وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me,
Sura al-Baqarah, verse 186
The human being is never alone. He is always very close to his Creator, the God who created him and nurtures him all through life. He is not left to fend for himself after being created. Allah is always there for him, guiding him, helping him, listening to him, answering him . . . It is amazingly soothing to remember that, and understand that the One who is in charge of the Heavens and the earth and has complete power over all things, is so attentive to the human being and his needs.
Whenever we pray to Allah and ask Him for our needs, we should know that He always listens, and answers. Just as He Himself tells us not to turn away any beggar that comes to our door, He also does not turn away anybody who comes to His door. Hadith tells us that every time we ask Allah for something we either get exactly what we asked for, or if that is not what is good for us, we would be granted a blessing which we would not have received otherwise, or have a difficulty averted. So ask Allah all the time. You will never return empty handed.
Nabi Musa (a) once asked God what type of needs he should ask Him for, big and important ones or small ones. Allah replied telling him, ‘O Musa, ask Me for everything, even for the mending of your shoe.’ Ask God all the time, for everyday small things, and for larger more important needs. Ask God for success as you do each task during your day, for safety and protection, for Tawfiq to improve the self, for all the things you want to achieve in life, for your family and friends, for the Muslims, for the Marhumeen. . . . keep on asking. It is not being greedy, it only shows your utter reliance on Allah. Constantly asking from Allah has been described as the way to attain nearness to Allah, while refraining from asking other human beings is the way to get closer to them.
Supplicating to Allah and knowing He will listen, is the privilege of the believer. Imam Ali (a) in his letter to his son (Letter no. 31, Nahjul Balagha) says; ‘My son, know that the One who owns the treasures of the Heavens and the Earth has placed the keys to them in your hands.’ You have the keys. Use them whenever you want to open His doors. The waves of mercy and blessings you will receive will transform your life.