WHY DOES MAN ABANDON PRAYER?

Allah Almighty says:
"Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up prayers (i.e. made their prayers to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.) and have followed lusts. so they will be thrown in Hell. Except those who repent and believe (in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad {pbuh}) and work righteousness. Such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged in aught." (19:59, 60)
Preceding this verse, the Quran gives the example of many previous Prophets and their guided followers. This particular verse explains that the people who abandon prayer are those who follow their own selfish desires. A man can either obey Allah, or he can obey his own wishes; and this obedience is equated to worship by the Quran:
"Have you (O Muhammad {pbuh}) seen him who has taken as his Ilah (god) his own desire? Would you then be a Wakil (a protecting guide) over him?" (25:43)

Allah's Messenger (pbuh) described such people as the sales of Dirhams and Dinars, and things have not change much since his time. Today, the Americans are described by a western author as - 'people who worship the dollar for six days a week, and then they turn to God on the seventh day!"
When a heart is filled with love for money, it has no room for God, and prayer is the first thing to be abandoned.
PRAYER: AN EVERLASTING PRESCRIPTION FOR PURITY, CLEANSING OF SINS AND ENTERING PARADISE
Some Ahadith on prayer

1. Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:
"Just see, can anything of his filthiness remain on the body of anyone of you if there were a river at his door in which he washed himself five times daily?" They said, "Nothing of his filthiness will remain (on his body)." He said, "That is like the five prayers by which Allah obliterates sins." (Bukhari, Muslim)
2. Abu Huraira narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:
"Five (daily) prayers and from one Friday prayer to the (next) Friday prayer, and from Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for the (sins) committed in between (their intervals) provided one shuns the major sins." (Muslim, Tirmidhi)
3. Rabia bin Kab narrated:
I was with Allah's Messenger (pbuh) one night, and I brought him water and what he required. He said to me: "Ask (anything you like)." I said, "I ask your company in Paradise." He said, "Or anything else besides it?" I said, "That is all what I require." He said, "Then help me to achieve this for you by devoting yourself often to prostration." (Muslim)
4. Abu Dhar narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) came out in winter when the leaves were falling. He took hold of a branch (and shook it) and its leaves started falling. Then he said:
"O Abu Dhar!" I said, "Labbaik, O Messenger of Allah!" He said, "Whenever a Muslim prays seeking the Pleasure of Allah, his sins start falling like the leaves of this tree." (Musnad Ahmad)
5. 'Uqba bin Aamir narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
"Your Lord is amazed by that shepherd who is at the top of a mountain (with his sheep) and who calls for prayer and then offer his prayers. Allah Almighty says: Look at this slave of Mine who calls for prayer, then says Iqamah for the prayer, and then prays as he is fearful of me. I have forgiven my slave and admitted him to Paradise." (Abu Dawood, Nasai)
PRAYER: A DUTY ON EVERYONE
A child born into a Muslim family begins his life hearing the Adhan in his right ear and the Iqama in his left ear. From his childhood, he should be taught the importance and method of prayer.
'Abdullah bin Amr bin Aas narrated that Allah's Messenger said: "Command your children to pray when they reach the age of seven and admonish them by beating (if they don't pray) at the age of ten. And keep them (i.e. boys and girls) apart in their beds." (Abu Dawood)
Abu Malik Al-Ashjai narrated on the authority of his father that the first thing the Prophet used to teach a new Muslim was the prayer. (Al-Bazzar)
Prayer is just as obligatory for women as it is for men. It is recommended that women should pray at home, but if they wish to attend the mosque for any obligatory prayer, they should not be prevented from doing so.
Abdullah bin Umar once quoted this saying of the Prophet (pbuh) to his son: "If your wife asks permission to go to the mosque you should not stop her." His son Bilal replied: "By Allah, we will stop them." Abdullah was so displeased at this that he criticized his son in strong terms, adding: "I quote to you what Allah's Messenger (pbuh) has said and you say 'we will stop them'. (All report this except Nisai)
Another narration makes it clear that although women can go to the mosque, they must not wear perfumes when they do so.
SUMMARY:
Prayer is an obligation upon every Muslim, man and woman.
"...Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours." (4:103)
Anas narrated that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said:
"Whoever forgets a prayer, he should offer it whenever he remembers. There is no expiation for it except this." (All six report it except Malik)
May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet and upon his family and upon all his followers.