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Prayer Indispensable and Obligatory
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Pages 92-93
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Prayer Indispensable and Obligatory
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The use of prayer is enjoined upon Bahá'ís in no uncertain
terms. Bahá'u'lláh says in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas: --
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Chant (or recite) the Words of God every morning
and evening. The one who neglects this has not been faithful
to the Covenant of God and His agreement, and he
who turns away from it today is of those who have turned
away from God. Fear God, O my people! Let not too
much reading (of the Sacred Word) and actions by day or
night make you proud. To chant but one verse with joy
and gladness is better for you than reading all the Revelations
of the Omnipotent God with carelessness. Chant the
Tablets of God in such measure that ye be not overtaken
with fatigue and depression. Burden not the soul so as to
cause exhaustion and langour, but rather refresh it that
thus it may soar on the wings of Revelation to the Dawning-place
of proofs. This brings you nearer to God, were
ye of those who understand. -- Kitáb-i-Aqdas
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`Abdu'l-Bahá says to a correspondents: -- "O thou spiritual
friend! Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory,
and man under no pretext whatever is excused therefrom unless
he be mentally unsound or an insurmountable obstacle prevent
him."
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Another correspondent asked: "Why pray? What is the
wisdom thereof, for God has established everything and executes
all affairs after the best order -- therefore, what is the
wisdom in beseeching and supplicating and in stating one's
wants and seeking help?"
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`Abdu'l-Bahá replied: --
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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.
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7 |
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. (from a tablet to an American
believer, translated by `Alí Kuli Khán, October
1908).
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Bahá'u'lláh has revealed three daily obligatory prayers. The
believer is free to choose any one of these three prayers, but
is under the obligation of reciting one of them, and in the
manner Bahá'u'lláh has prescribed.
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