Why Do We Pray to The Almighty?

I notice there are many reasons why those who are religious pray to the Omnipotent:
- because of fear--->fear of hell fire
- because of hope--> to enter heaven and get rewards
- because of habit -->something that you are used to doing, and feel otherwise odd if not doing it
- because of understanding -->something that you enjoy and feel joyful of doing. An anticipation of being in love with the One I hope we all strive for the last one.

Thinking about reward is good, but it seems as though our relation to God is reduced to being a seller and buyer. Isn't it much more beautiful if we become lovers to Allah instead, to pray because we long to be in a seclusion with our loved one? I am not suggesting that I am already there, I am merely stating that we should not get too hung up with reward or hellfire.

God is not to be feared, nor is He the place for us to be waiting for reward (though He does punish and reward). We just need to change the perspective of our relation and see if we can build it into that of love for Him alone.There is another suggestion that is interesting as well, which is the need to maintain the three aspects of fear, hope and love, as a way to keep us abreast in the seconds that we live on this earth.

Observation from Sufi stories (Al Hallaj, by Louis Massignon)