Employing the Power of Prayer

O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious.  Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone. With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief.  He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we?  He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth.  Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord.
         (`Abdu’l-Bahá:  Selections ...  `Abdu’l-Bahá, Page: 51)

  O SON OF SPIRIT! Ask not of Me that which We desire not for thee, then be content with what We have ordained for thy sake, for this is that which profiteth thee, if therewith thou dost content thyself.            (Bahá’u’lláh:  Arabic Hidden Words, Page: 18)

 Unasked, I have showered upon thee My grace.  Unpetitioned, I have fulfilled thy wish.  In spite of thy undeserving, I have singled thee out for My richest, My incalculable favors....             (Bahá’u’lláh:  Gleanings, Page: 322)

 Arise, O people, and, by the power of God's might, resolve to gain the victory over your own selves…
         (Bahá’u’lláh:  Gleanings, Page: 93)

 Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men.  Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul.  Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.
         (Bahá’u’lláh:  Gleanings, Page: 29)


"Indeed the chief reason for the evils now rampant in society is the lack of spirituality.  The materialistic civilization of our age has so much absorbed the energy and interest of mankind that people in general no longer feel the necessity of raising themselves above the forces and conditions of their daily material existence.  There is not sufficient demand for things that we call spiritual to differentiate them from the needs and requirements of our physical existence.

     "The universal crisis affecting mankind is, therefore, essentially spiritual in its causes.  The spirit of the age, taken on the whole, is irreligious.  Man's outlook on life is too crude and materialistic to enable him to elevate himself into the higher realms of the spirit.

     "It is this condition, so sadly morbid, into which society has fallen, that religion seeks to improve and transform.  For the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites Man with God.  This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer.  And this is the reason why Bahá’u’lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship.  It is not sufficient for a believer merely to accept and observe the teachings.  He should, in addition, cultivate the sense of spirituality which he can acquire chiefly by means of prayer.  The Bahá’í Faith, like all other Divine Religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in character. Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers. It is the soul of man which has first to be fed.  And this spiritual nourishment prayer can best provide.

     "Laws and institutions, as viewed by Bahá’u’lláh, can become really effective only when our inner spiritual life has been perfected and transformed.  Otherwise religion will degenerate into a mere organization, and becomes a dead thing.  The believers, particularly the young ones, should therefore fully realize the necessity of praying.  For prayer is absolutely indispensable to their inner spiritual development, and this, as already stated, is the very foundation and purpose of the religion of God."
         (Shoghi Effendi:  Directives of the Guardian, Pages: 86-87)

 Although you seem to feel that your prayers have not so far been answered, and you no longer have any hope that your material conditions will ameliorate, the Guardian wishes you nevertheless not to allow such disappointments to undermine your faith in the power of prayer, but rather to continue entreating the Almighty to enable you to discover the great wisdom which may be hidden behind all these sufferings.  For are not our sufferings often blessings in disguise, through which God wishes to test the sincerity and depth of our faith, and thereby make us firmer in His Cause?      ...
     The true worshipper, while praying, should endeavour not so much to ask God to fulfil his wishes and desires, but rather to adjust these and make them conform to the Divine Will.  Only through such an attitude can one derive that feeling of inner peace and contentment which the power of prayer alone can confer.
          (26 October 1938 to an individual believer)          (Shoghi Effendi:  Prayer, Meditation, ..., Pages: 239-240)


The most acceptable prayer is the one offered with the utmost spirituality and radiance; its prolongation hath not been and is not beloved by God.  The more detached and the purer the prayer, the more acceptable is it in the presence of God.
         (The Báb:  Selections from the Báb, Page: 78)

 
"One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship"   (Bahá’u’lláh:  The Kitab-i-Iqan, Page: 238)

    It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his parents.  Thereupon God's call will be raised:  `Thousand upon thousand of what thou hast asked for thy parents shall be thy recompense!'  Blessed is he who remembereth his parents when communing with God.  There is, verily, no God but Him, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved.
         (The Báb:  Selections from the Báb, Page: 94)

Chant the Words of God and, pondering over their meaning, transform them into actions!
         (`Abdu’l-Bahá:  Prayer, Meditation, ..., Page: 233)

     PRAYER IS INDISPENSABLE

     O thou spiritual friend!  Thou hast asked the wisdom of prayer. Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatsoever is excused from performing the prayer unless he be mentally unsound, or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him.  The wisdom of prayer is this:  That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion.  The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing; that is why with every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God, his greatest hope is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate before his Beloved, appeal for His mercy and grace and be immersed in the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity.

     Besides all this, prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests....              (`Abdu’l-Bahá:  Bahá’í World Faith*, Page: 368)

 
In the highest prayer, men pray only for the love of God, not because they fear Him or hell, or hope for bounty or heaven....  When a man falls in love with a human being, it is impossible for him to keep from mentioning the name of his beloved.  How much more difficult is it to keep from mentioning the Name of God when one has come to love Him....  The spiritual man finds no delight in anything save in commemoration of God….

If one friend feels love for another, he will wish to say so.  Though he knows that the friend is aware that he loves him, he will still wish to say so....  God knows the wishes of all hearts.  But the impulse to prayer is a natural one, springing from man's love to God.

     Prayer need not be in words, but rather in thought and attitude.  But if this love and this desire are lacking, it is useless to try to force them. Words without love mean nothing.  If a person talks to you as an unpleasant duty, with no love or pleasure in his meeting with you, do you wish to converse with him?
         (`Abdu’l-Bahá:  Prayer, Meditation, ..., Page: 236)

 
He is the Gracious, the All-Bountiful!

     O God, my God!  Thy call hath attracted me, and the voice of Thy Pen of Glory awakened me.  The stream of Thy holy utterance hath enraptured me, and the wine of Thine inspiration entranced me.  Thou seest me, O Lord, detached from all things but Thee, clinging to the cord of Thy bounty and craving the wonders of Thy grace.  I ask Thee, by the eternal billows of Thy loving-kindness and the shining lights of Thy tender care and favor, to grant that which shall draw me nigh unto Thee and make me rich in Thy wealth.  My tongue, my pen, my whole being, testify to Thy power, Thy might, Thy grace and Thy bounty, that Thou art God and there is none other God but Thee, the Powerful, the Mighty.

     I bear witness at this moment, O my God, to my helplessness and Thy sovereignty, my feebleness and Thy power.  I know not that which profiteth me or harmeth me; Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.  Do Thou decree for me, O Lord, my God, and my Master, that which will make me feel content with Thine eternal decree and will prosper me in every world of Thine. Thou art in truth the Gracious, the Bountiful.

     Lord!  Turn me not away from the ocean of Thy wealth and the heaven of Thy mercy, and ordain for me the good of this world and hereafter.  Verily, Thou art the Lord of the mercy-seat, enthroned in the highest; there is none other God but Thee, the One, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.                                   - Bahá’u’lláh
         (Bahá’u’lláh:  Bahá’í Prayers (US), Pages: 144-145)

 
In the Name of God, the Most High!  Lauded and glorified art Thou, Lord, God Omnipotent! Thou before Whose wisdom the wise falleth short and faileth, before Whose knowledge the learned confesseth his ignorance, before Whose might the strong waxeth weak, before Whose wealth the rich testifieth to his poverty, before Whose light the enlightened is lost in darkness, toward the shrine of Whose knowledge turneth the essence of all understanding and around the sanctuary of Whose presence circle the souls of all mankind.

     How then can I sing and tell of Thine Essence, which the wisdom of the wise and the learning of the learned have failed to comprehend, inasmuch as no man can sing that which he understandeth not, nor recount that unto which he cannot attain, whilst Thou hast been from everlasting the Inaccessible, the Unsearchable.  Powerless though I be to rise to the heavens of Thy glory and soar in the realms of Thy knowledge, I can but recount Thy tokens that tell of Thy glorious handiwork.

     By Thy Glory!  O Beloved of all hearts, Thou that alone canst still the pangs of yearning for Thee!  Though all the dwellers of heaven and earth unite to glorify the least of Thy signs, wherein and whereby Thou hast revealed Thyself, yet would they fail, how much more to praise Thy holy Word, the creator of all Thy tokens.

     All praise and glory be to Thee, Thou of Whom all things have testified that Thou art one and there is none other God but Thee, Who hast been from everlasting exalted above all peer or likeness and to everlasting shalt remain the same.  All kings are but Thy servants and all beings, visible and invisible, as naught before Thee.  There is none other God but Thee, the Gracious, the Powerful, the Most High.                              - Bahá’u’lláh
         (Bahá’u’lláh:  Bahá’í Prayers (US), Pages: 122-123)