Prayer and Worship
Obligatory Prayer:
We have [God has] commanded you to pray and fast from the beginning of
maturity; this is ordained by God, your Lord and the Lord of your
forefathers. He hath exempted from this those who are weak from
illness or age, as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the Forgiving,
the Generous.
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Aqdas, pp. 22-23)
In truth, I say that obligatory prayer and fasting occupy an exalted
station in the sight of God. It is, however, in a state of health
that their virtue can be realized. In time of ill-health it is
not permissible to observe these obligations; such hath been the
bidding of the Lord, exalted be His glory, at all times.
(Baha'u'llah: Aqdas: Questions and Answers, p. 134)
The obligatory prayers are binding inasmuch as they are conducive to
humility and submissiveness, to setting one's face towards God and
expressing devotion to Him. Through such prayer man holdeth
communion with God, seeketh to draw near unto Him, converseth with the
true Beloved of one's heart, and attaineth spiritual stations.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Prayer, Meditation, ..., p. 232)
These daily obligatory prayers, together with a few other specific
ones, such as the Healing Prayer, the Tablet of Ahmad, have been
invested by Baha'u'llah with a special potency and significance, and
should therefore be accepted as such and be recited by the believers
with unquestioned faith and confidence, that through them they may
enter into a much closer communion with God, and identify themselves
more fully with His Laws and precepts.
(Shoghi Effendi: Directives of the Guardian, p. 60)
Concerning the directions given by Baha'u'llah for the recital of
certain prayers, Shoghi Effendi wishes me to inform you that these
regulations - which by the way are very few and simple - are of a great
spiritual help to the individual believer, in that they help him to
fully concentrate when praying and meditating. Their significance
is thus purely spiritual.
(Shoghi Effendi: Prayer, Meditation, ..., p. 237)
Fasting and obligatory prayer constitute the two pillars that sustain
the revealed Law of God. Baha'u'llah in one of His Tablets
affirms that He has revealed the laws of obligatory prayer and fasting
so that through them the believers may draw nigh unto God.
(The Universal House of Justice: Aqdas: Notes, p. 176)
Communion with God:
The state of prayer is the best of conditions, for man is then
associating with God. Prayer verily bestoweth life, particularly
when offered in private and at times, such as midnight, when freed from
daily cares.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, p. 202)
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-Baha: Baha'i World Faith, p. 368)
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 Baha'u'llah 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.
(Shoghi Effendi: Directives of the Guardian, p. 86)
Expression of Love and Gratitude:
In this day, to thank God for His bounties consisteth in possessing a
radiant heart, and a soul open to the promptings of the spirit.
This is the essence of thanksgiving.
As for offering thanks by speaking out or
writing, although this is indeed acceptable, yet when compared with
that other thanksgiving, it is only a semblance and unreal; for the
essential thing is these intimations of the spirit, these emanations
from the deep recess of the heart.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, p. 179)
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.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Prayer, Meditation, ..., p. 236)
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.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Prayer, Meditation, ..., p. 236)
Guidelines for Prayer:
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 Bab: Selections from the Bab, p. 78)
The reason why privacy hath been enjoined in moments of devotion is
this, that thou mayest give thy best attention to the remembrance of
God, that thy heart may at all times be animated with His Spirit, and
not be shut out as by a veil from thy Best Beloved.
(The Bab: Selections from the Bab, pp. 93-94)
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.
(The Bab: Selections from the Bab, p. 94)
We must strive to attain to that condition by being separated from all
things and from the people of the world and by turning to God
alone. It will take some effort on the part of man to attain to
that condition, but he must work for it, strive for it. We can
attain to it by thinking and caring less for material things and more
for the spiritual. The further we go from the one, the nearer we
are to the other. The choice is ours.
Our spiritual perception, our inward sight
must be opened, so that we can see the signs and traces of God's spirit
in everything. Everything can reflect to us the light of the
Spirit.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Prayer, Meditation, ..., pp. 235-236)
Benefits:
Know thou, verily, it is becoming in a weak one to supplicate to the
Strong One, and it behooveth a seeker of bounty to beseech the Glorious
Bountiful One. When one supplicates to his Lord, turns to Him and
seeks bounty from His Ocean, this supplication brings light to his
heart, illumination to his sight, life to his soul and exaltation to
his being.
During thy supplications to God and thy
reciting, "Thy Name is my healing," consider how thine heart is
cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy
mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one's
ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the
water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud
becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of
supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Prayer, Meditation, ..., p. 235)
Thou hast asked about places of worship and the underlying reason
therefor. The wisdom in raising up such buildings is that at a
given hour, the people should know it is time to meet, and all should
gather together, and, harmoniously attuned one to another, engage in
prayer; with the result that out of this coming together, unity and
affection shall grow and flourish in the human heart.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, pp. 94-95)
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, p. 87)
Answers to Prayers:
Spirit has influence; prayer has spiritual effect. Therefore, we pray,
"O God! Heal this sick one!" Perchance God will
answer. Does it matter who prays? God will answer the
prayer of every servant if that prayer is urgent. His mercy is
vast, illimitable. He answers the prayers of all His
servants. He answers the prayer of this plant. The plant
prays potentially, "O God! Send me rain!" God answers the
prayer, and the plant grows. God will answer anyone. He
answers prayers potentially. Before we were born into this world
did we not pray, "O God! Give me a mother; give me two fountains
of bright milk; purify the air for my breathing; grant me rest and
comfort; prepare food for my sustenance and living"? Did we not
pray potentially for these needed blessings before we were
created? When we came into this world, did we not find our
prayers answered? Did we not find mother, father, food, light,
home and every other necessity and blessing, although we did not
actually ask for them? Therefore, it is natural that God will
give to us when we ask Him. His mercy is all-encircling.
But we ask for things which the divine wisdom
does not desire for us, and there is no answer to our prayer. His
wisdom does not sanction what we wish. We pray, "O God!
Make me wealthy!" If this prayer were universally answered, human
affairs would be at a standstill. There would be none left to
work in the streets, none to till the soil, none to build, none to run
the trains. Therefore, it is evident that it would not be well
for us if all prayers were answered. The affairs of the world would be
interfered with, energies crippled and progress hindered. But
whatever we ask for which is in accord with divine wisdom, God will
answer. Assuredly!
For instance, a very feeble patient may ask
the doctor to give him food which would be positively dangerous to his
life and condition. He may beg for roast meat. The doctor is kind
and wise. He knows it would be dangerous to his patient so he
refuses to allow it. The doctor is merciful; the patient,
ignorant. Through the doctor's kindness the patient recovers; his
life is saved. Yet the patient may cry out that the doctor is
unkind, not good, because he refuses to answer his pleading.
God is merciful. In His mercy He answers
the prayers of all His servants when according to His supreme wisdom it
is necessary.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 246-247)
The prayers which were revealed to ask for healing apply both to
physical and spiritual healing. Recite them, then, to heal both
the soul and the body. If healing is right for the patient, it
will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would
only be the cause of other ills, and therefore wisdom doth not permit
an affirmative answer to the prayer.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Selections ... `Abdu'l-Baha, pp. 161-162)
...It is not sufficient to pray diligently for guidance, but this
prayer must be followed by meditation as to the best methods of action
and then action itself. Even if the action should not immediately
produce results, or perhaps not be entirely correct, that does not make
so much difference, because prayers can only be answered through action
and if someone's action is wrong, God can use that method of showing
the pathway which is right.
(Shoghi Effendi: Lights of Guidance, p. 462)
Work is Worship:
This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of
the people. Service is prayer. A physician ministering to
the sick, gently, tenderly, free from prejudice and believing in the
solidarity of the human race, he is giving praise.
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Paris Talks, p. 177)
Work done in the spirit of service is the highest form of worship....
(`Abdu'l-Baha: Education, p. 313)
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Bahá’ís
of Dana Point, California, USA - all rights reserved.