Pray Without Ceasing: The Way of the Invocation in World Religions (Treasures of the World's Religions)
"It is widely recognized in all religious worlds that nothing is more important than prayer, since prayer involves a direct relationship between the Divine and the human. Nothing can be deemed more spiritually necessary than prayer since among all possible actions none engages as direct a communication with the Great Mystery. A work of charity, for example, could be considered prima facie as important as prayer, or it could be viewed as an extension and a consequence of prayer inasmuch as it is centered on a consciousness of the Divine; but it is nevertheless contingent upon circumstances and particular needs, whereas prayer as such is totally unconditioned since it expresses the very essence of the human station before the One."