How to Taste the Sweetness of Prayer (Salah)

The post is taken from Suhaibwebb.com, written by brother Jinan Bastaki.

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
All praise and thanks be to God, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of Prophets and Messengers.

A while ago, a show aired in Arabic called "كيف تتلذذ بالصلاة؟" which means "How can you taste the sweetness of prayer?" by a young Kuwaiti da'iya named Mishary Al-Kharaz. For many of us, our khushoo' in our prayer fluctuates. What is khushoo'? It is a state of mind that contains serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility during prayer, which springs from one's heart standing in front of Allah in humility and submission. Sometimes in prayer we have so much devotion and can feel every word; yet at other times it's all about the ritual movements and nothing more. Insha'Allah (God willing), I will try to summarize the main points of this show every week.

How can we prepare for Ramadaan? What are the best deeds in this blessed month?.

This writing is taken from the website ISLAM-QA.
Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly: 

You have done well to ask this question, because you have asked how to prepare for the month of Ramadaan. Many people misunderstand the true nature of fasting, and they make it an occasion for eating and drinking, making special sweets and staying up late at night and watching shows on satellite TV. They make preparations for that long before Ramadaan, lest they miss out on some food or prices go up. They prepare by buying food, preparing drinks and looking at the satellite TV guide so they can choose which shows to follow and which to ignore. They are truly unaware of the real nature of fasting in Ramadaan; they take worship and piety out of the month and make it just for their bellies and their eyes.

Secondly: 

Others are aware of the real nature of fasting in the month of Ramadaan, so they start to prepare from Sha'baan, and some of them even start before that. Among the best ways of preparing for the month of Ramadaan are:

1 –Sincere repentance

This is obligatory at all times, but because of the approach of a great and blessed month, it is even more important to hasten to repent from sins between you and your Lord, and between you and other people by giving them their rights, so that when the blessed month begins you may busy yourself with acts of worship with a clean heart and peace of mind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"And all of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful"

[al-Noor 24:31]