Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY
/
New Muslims – Tips to Build Self Confidence in Prayer
New Muslims – Tips to Build Self Confidence in Prayer
Mar 17, 2025 12:42 AM

Prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is one of the most important acts a Muslim can do, and it is performed five times a day. These five ritual prayers form the backbone of the faith and assist the believer to remain firm on belief and stay away from sin.

Islamic Prayer - The Spiritual Ritual (Special Folder) The prayers set the rhythm of the day and in fact sometimes serve as a clock. Appointments are made before or after a certain prayer, rather than at a set time. Prayer is a large part of life in Islam; the Arabic word for prayer Salah means connection. It is our connection to God.

What happens though when learning how to pray causes anxiety, or makes us feel less than confident? This is the time to take a step back and think about prayer being our link to God.

Prayer is our opportunity to converse with our Creator. If we are unable to control our anxiety, then preparing for prayer will help boost our confidence. Prophet Muhammad said:

When any one of you stands to pray, he is communicating with his Lord, so let him pay attention to how he speaks. (Al-Bukhari)

We could extrapolate those words to thinking about what we are about to do and why we are doing it.

Ads by Muslim Ad Network

How many of us remember the first time we understood that prayer was a private audience with God? Nothing outside this metaphorical chamber could interrupt or distract us. This feeling is not unique to those who come to Islam from a different religion or from no religion at all.

Sometimes Muslims find themselves reconnected to their religion in a way they never thought possible. They are in effect embracing Islam; and for all those immersing themselves in Islam, these days, weeks, or months are filled with big emotions.

Perhaps you can remember the joy and trepidation of your first prayer. Perhaps you can also remember the feeling that comes when you establish your bond with God.

It is that feeling of surrender that washes over you leaving us flooded with tears, or tingling with excitement. It encompasses the realization that we have no control, and that surrender is all about our lack of control. We become like feathers in the wind, blowing this way or that, not through our own choice but by the will of God.

2 Ways of Communication

The Most Loving How God Shows Us Great Love In Islam there are two ways to communicate with God. One is through ritual prayer the other is through supplication, what is known in Islam as dua. Those who were once Christian called their supplications prayer, thus initially there might be some confusion or worry.

However, dua can be made at any time of day or night, silently or aloud. This way of communicating with God is not wrong. The five daily prayers must be prayed in a certain way and at certain times, in order for them to be accepted.

Thus, we add the fear that our prayer may not be accepted to the list of all the other overwhelming emotions swirling around in our minds. Suddenly we are riding a roller coaster of emotions. Once, not so long ago we were fretting about not waking up in time for the dawn prayer, now that pales in comparison to the fear of not being able to fulfill all the obligatory items in the prayer.

It must be in Arabic, there are certain movements and positions. The lightness of surrendering feels as if it has been replaced by a heavy load of worry.

This is not the correct way to approach our new found faith or God. Islam is easy, it is not designed to put stress and pressure on us. We are not required to somehow become an expert in the Arabic language or remember words, actions, and positions we may never have seen before. The most important aspect is to establish a connection with God.

Try to understand that when we go to our praying places we are with God, and even in the ritual aspects of the prayer we are indeed in conversation with God.

Build Self Confidence

How My Spiritual Journey to Islam Began Feeling this connection is what builds our self-confidence. Islam tells us to take one step at a time. Baby steps will one day be giant strides.

The purpose of prayer is to strengthen our relationship with God, it is a way to express our gratefulness for all His blessings and remind ourselves of His Greatness. It is also a time in which we can contemplate the great honor that God has bestowed on us. He chose us from among the billions of disbelievers and offered us Islam. That is something that should inspire great confidence.

Rather than being afraid or overburdened we should take the opportunity to examine our lives and contemplate what God saw when He looked at us. What light was hidden from everyone except Him? That light can now come forth and guide us to the perfect prayer.

Take it Slowly

5 Practical Steps to Maintain Focus in Prayer Each person is different and will require a different timetable. Some may be able to pray immediately reading from a book, others might struggle to even quiet their minds long enough to feel Gods presence. There is no strict agenda, we all learn at our own pace. In fact, slow, steady, and consistent is better.

Choose a time and chose a place. Pick up the Quran read a small portion, inviting God to guide you to a perfect prayer. Perhaps you could learn some Arabic words of praise such as Alhamdulillah (all thanks and praise is due to Allah), or Allahu Akbar (God is the Greatest). These words will help to calm your heart and your mind, and you can decide on the best way to begin.

God assured us in the Quran that:

Without doubt, in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest. (Quran 13:28)

And Prophet Muhammad told us that:

The closest we will get to our Lord is when we are in prostration. (Muslim)

Therefore, it might be wise to begin by prostrating to God and becoming familiar with this powerful symbol of surrender.

Websites such as this have sections designed for new Muslims to learn how to pray. Books are available from mosques, or anonymously online, to read or to buy.

God will provide the best method designed specifically for you. The new Muslim only needs to be watchful for the opportunities to learn that present themselves.

(From Discovering Islam archive)

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY
What is our Constitution?
For the seventh Acton Institute Annual Dinner on June 17, 1997, Justice Antonin Scalia gave the evening’s keynote lecture. Despite having spoken these words nearly two decades ago, the message is just as important today as it was that evening. The following essay has been transcribed and excerpted from that speech. The full audio is available online on Acton’s PowerBlog. In honor of the late justice’s significant promotion of freedom and virtue, he is also featured in this issue’s...
Double-edged sword: The power of the Word
PSALM 139:1-3 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. One of the great characteristics of the Lord is that he cares and delights in us personally. Nothing about his character is impersonal or distant. God is always relational. His Trinitarian nature speaks to the very fact...
Land of milk and honey: Innovation, entrepreneurship and Silicon Valley | An interview with Rev. Bruce Baker
What is it about Silicon Valley? Why did this agriculturally gifted valley give birth to so many of the world’s leading technology firms while simultaneously ing the cultural landmark of the entrepreneurial spirit? Someone who not only has studied the Valley extensively but also was part of several Silicon Valley giants shares some insights with Religion & Liberty’s associate editor, Sarah Stanley. Rev. Bruce Baker began his career interested in entrepreneurship and technology but was called to the ministry...
What can I expect at Acton University 2016?
The conference will be held at the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 14–17. The conference fees are $500 for students and $750 for regular attendees. This year includes 15 first-time faculty members, 42 new courses (for a total of 121) and online registration for all hotel reservations. There will be a special screening of the award-winning documentary Poverty, Inc. Acton University offers another strong lineup of keynote speakers: Magatte Wade:a passionate adventurer and idealistic entrepreneur....
The EU: global judicial despotism and the international criminal court
This essay has been excerpted from Todd Huizinga’s new book, The New Totalitarian Temptation: Global Governance and the Crisis of Democracy in Europe (Encounter Books, 2016). The European Union’s goal of creating a post-nation-state, supranationally governed world—in which nations give up key aspects of their national sovereignty to a web of international institutions that administer and enforce a body of international law—is diametrically opposed to U.S. identity and ideals. Americans instinctively refuse to recognize as legitimate any international organization,...
Finance and the common good
A Review ofFor God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good(Crossroad, 2016). The Jesuits control the Federal Reserve.This conspiratorial New York subway graffito is perhaps a small sign that the church’s relationship to financial markets remains misunderstood. Financial judgment and moral judgment are different, but not unrelated, skills. Both must be learned and disciplined. Graham and Dodd managed 770 pages on security analysis, yet Aquinas left an unfinished summa with more than 3000 pages. A...
Double-edged sword: The power of the Word
Hebrews 1:1–4 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He...
Editor’s note
The first issue of Religion & Liberty in 2016 will explore several topics from a variety of faith traditions: entrepreneurship, the International Criminal Court, business mon grace and the eighteenth-century British abolition movement. Late last year I had the privilege of interviewing Rev. Bruce Baker, a Silicon Valley veteran, entrepreneur, pastor and college professor. For this issue’s interview, he discusses the history of Silicon Valley, technocracy, how Christians can be “winsome” witnesses and more. Charles Koch, while widely admired...
Charles Koch’s metaphysics of business
Review of Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World’s Most Successful Companies by Charles Koch (Crown Business, 2015). Adam Smith, a venerable supporter of free enterprise, held businessmen in low regard, alleging that their every meeting “ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” While deference is due to his lasting insights into the sources of the values of men in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and their...
Diversity of minds and subjects
The Acton Institute has recently crossed the quarter-century threshold, and I’m very encouraged that we’re even more invigorated now by bined missions and the programs and publications initiated to support them. Much of this invigoration derives from the many wonderful people who have shared their wisdom and experiences with us, while other inspiration e from the worlds of religion, culture, politics, business and academia. With such a panoply of intellectual, experiential and spiritual ideas constantly spinning and cohering in...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved