The Night of Majesty is better than a thousand months. (97:3)
Commentary 
NUMBER 1,000: From tonight, the 19th night of Ramaḍān, we enter into the phase in which the nights are known as the Layālī al-Qadr – The Nights of al-Qadr.  Not only are these nights very special, but it is also steeped in mystery and secrecy. The fact that no one knows what night it is and that even though the aḥādīth guide us to look for it in the Month of Ramaḍhān; and that too in the last 10 nights of the month; and that too in the odd numbered nights; with an extra emphasis being on the 23rd of Ramaḍhān, still we are always searching for when it is.
The meaning of al-Qadr is also immersed in spiritual obscurity as it has many interpretations: it is the ‘night of Power’; it is a ‘night of Worth’; it is a ‘night of Grandeur’; it is a ‘night of Destiny’ – just as the technical meaning of this word conveys, and so in reality, we are exploring something so splendid that it cannot be described accurately, and we are seeking it it wherever we can in the last third of the blessed month.
The Prophet of Islam and his 12 successors have emphasized that we should keep awake all night in prayer, asking forgiveness, turning back to Allah and spiritual self-building. However as we lead busy lives with school and work, it is not always practical to devote the last portion of the month exclusive to worship. Thus, when a person came to the Prophet ] and told him that his house was far from Medina and so he could not make it every night in Ramadān, the Prophet ] told him that he should make it a point to come to Medina on the 23rd of Ramadān.
In addition there is a story which has been narrated in which we are told that there was a year in which Imam al-Ṣādiq was sick, however as it was the 23rd of Ramaḍhān, he asked those around him to help him go to the Masjid of the Prophet so that he may engage in worship.
In addition, the Leader of the Women of Paradise, Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ used to sprinkle water on the faces of her  young children so that they could stay awake to engage in worship on the 23rd of Ramaḍān!
With regards to the importance of spending this night in worship, we refer to a lengthy tradition in which the Prophet of Islam ] quotes an event which took place between Allah and Prophet Mūsā in which Mūsā said to Allah:
1. “I want a station such that I am close to you.” To this, Allah replied: My closeness is attained by the one who stays awake on the night of al-Qadr.
2. “I desire Your Mercy.” To this, Allah replied: My mercy is for that person who shows mercy to the poor on the night of al-Qadr.
3. “I want to be able to cross over the ṣirāṭ.” To this, Allah replied: That is for the person who gives in charity on the night of al-Qadr.
4. “I desire paradise and its blessings.” To this, Allah replied: That is for the person who glorifies (me) on the night of al-Qadr.
5. “I want to be saved from the fire of hell.” To this, Allah replied: That is for the person who seeks forgiveness on the night of al-Qadr.
6. Finally, Prophet Mūsā asked: “I desire to have Your pleasure.” To this, Allah replied: My pleasure is gained by that person who prays (to me) with two rakʿat prayer on the night of al-Qadr.
With so many blessings being handed out on such a night, no wonder we need to work hard at finding ‘when’ it is and that we spend the entire night awake in prayer - a night worth more than 1,000 months.
Point of Reflection
The worth of worship and the true rewards which come with it are such that the acts of obedience in Islam are not always “easy” – we have to work hard at them if we want to attain those other-worldly benefits – and just as the old saying goes, “No pain no gain.”