Night of Power
Better than a thousand months
Throughout the world people of faith spend part of their night in prayer. The length of time spent in prayer varies from a short prayer before one goes to bed to the practice of waking from sleep and seeking divine intervention for hours. In scripture, Luke 6:12 we find, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
In Islamic tradition, Ramadan is the month of fasting and prayers. There is a special night during this month known as The Night of Power. During this night, Muslims offer additional prayers seeking divine intervention for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The Qur’an says that this night is better than 1,000 months because it is the night in which angels and the spirit of the Almighty descend to listen and answer the prayers of believers. (Qur’an 97).
This verse is quite thought-provoking. One thousand months is equal to eighty-three years and four months — easily an entire lifetime. Throughout this period, our individual experiences shape us into the people that we become.
When we were infants, our mothers anticipated and provided for our every need. We cried when we needed a diaper changed or were hungry. As pre-teens, our parents established the parameters and boundaries by which we lived. Throughout our teenage years, we learned to take pride in ourselves. We focused on our physical and mental appearance and sought to be liked by others. In our early twenties, full responsibility for our actions comes to us as youthful adults: finding a spouse, earning a living, and starting a family.
All that we had learned and experienced during our first twenty years, now comes to bear on our attitudes, conduct, and ambitions. The remaining three-quarters of the eighty-three-year interval is engaged in activities that enhance our physical and spiritual well-being. If our first quarter of a century was anchored to a spiritual foundation, our human existence would be altruistic and self-satisfying. Otherwise, our lives are plagued with hardships and disappointment.
Juxtaposed to the night of power in which the angels and the spirit of The Almighty descend, to answer our prayer, and grant us guidance, is a lifetime of trial and error. If we had been blessed with God-conscious parents, our early childhood was bound by spiritual parameters. But when our teenage years are challenged by mass media’s emphasis on hedonism, greed, and self-interest, it is possible to lose direction. To regain our spiritual focus, we are admonished to ask for divine intervention through prayer.
For Muslims, the Night of Power is a special night denoting when the Qur’an was revealed. Spending hours in prayer and glorification of our Creator makes an indelible impression on our hearts. The lesson to be learned is quite simple: Sincere devotion to The Almighty is better than a lifetime of needless trial and error.
