Remember there are 2 kinds of prayers - salat and dua. Salat is more akin to a ritual worship or a worship service than to what most westerners think of as "prayer." In this instance, the Prophet (saws) told us to pray as we saw him pray. He made his salat in arabic. When sahaba learned to pray, they prayed in arabic, even when it was not their first language.

Dua, on the other hand, can be made in any language. This is prayer as most people think of it. There are duas that the Prophet (saws) made that we have recorded, and that are recommended to say in arabic. But, there's nothing stopping a muslim from praying to God in their own language, asking Him for help, for guidance, thanking Him, asking forgiveness, whatever it is that you want to say.



One of the benefits of praying the salat in arabic is that you can walk into a mosque anywhere in the world and join in the salat. You can share in this intimate act of worship with brothers and sisters from every country, and you'll all know what's going on and will be able to participate.