Thank you for the question on the prayer of a Muslim, “I’m a practicing Muslim. I have books in a shelf with some photos/illustrations on them in the room that I pray in. Is my prayer invalidated?”
As a Christian, I believe the Creator God hears the prayers of any person who truly seeks him with a pure heart and motive. It does not matter what religion, racial group, or personal standing in society. God does not look on the outward appearance of a person, but at the heart of a person.
Jesus said this in Matthew 6, ““And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages).
Thus it is not a matter of the size of the room or the things in the room. If one’s prayer is to impress others as to one’s faithfulness to God, if it is about oneself rather than forgiveness, the likelihood of God’s answering that prayer is small. For Jesus teaches to lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth, to love our neighbor as ourselves even to a person with a different religious belief or standing in life. The kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking. It about righteousness and fellowship with God.
If one truly seeks God with one’s whole being, the Creator God is not far from that person. The prayers are not answered if the focus is on oneself rather than glorify the Creator God. God is not cruel to ignore the heart cry of any of created creatures but one has an increased standing before the Father through Jesus Christ who died for one’s sins and has become a child of God (John 1:12).
SUMMARY One’s prayer is invalid or unanswered if the prayer is about one’s own successful in life rather than glorifying God and advancing the kingdom of God. The advancement is preaching the Gospel of salvation to all mankind. This is my understanding of prayer and doing the will of God.
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