Here's why:

* Newton's First Law of Motion: This law states that an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

* Balanced Forces: When forces acting on an object are balanced, they cancel each other out. This means the net force on the object is zero.

Examples of forces acting on a ball at rest:

* Gravity: Pulling the ball downwards.

* Normal Force: The upward force exerted by the surface the ball is resting on (like a table or the ground).

* Friction: A force opposing any potential movement, which may be negligible if the surface is very smooth.

Since these forces are balanced, the ball remains at rest.