QUOTE : Often people look at prayer in terms of what they might gain from it; but prayer is not about gain as much as it is about letting go of all that prevents you from witnessing your innate alignment with God. The salat shines a light on the mental idols we carry with us that we struggle with surrendering to God: whether it be obsessing about what people think of us, trying to manage our schedule for the day, thinking about how we will pay our bills, or how we can be more successful, all the distractions we experience during prayer are places in our life where God is calling us to surrender to Him. Surrendering does not mean we no longer put effort into solving the different problems of our life; rather, it means that we do not take ownership over the outcomes. It is only when we bring our awareness to what keeps us from being present with God and slowly return our consciousness to Him that we can begin to feel contentment.