The Power of prayer

The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
Judaism and Christianity
When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed Close to them. I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he
calls on Me.
Islam. Qur'an

Prayer is conversation with God, the wisdom of prayer is that it causeth a connection between the servant and the True
One….The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become
familiar of the object of his longing.
Abdu’l-Baha

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C reate in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through

the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory
reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might
lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity
gladden me, O Thou Who art my God! Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my
Companion, and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my
Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art
the most manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden!
Bahá'u'lláh

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.
Abdul-baha

O Son of utterance! Turn thy face unto Mine and renounce all save Me; for My sovereignty endureth

and My dominion perisheth not. If thou seekest another than Me, yea, if thou searchest the universe for
evermore, thy quest will be in vain.

O Son of the wondrous vision! I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit, that thou mayest

be My lover. Why hast thou forsaken Me and sought a beloved other than Me?

O Son of Light! Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit.

Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh

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 The language of Love
We should speak in the language of heaven -- in the language of the spirit -- for there is a language of the
spirit and heart. It is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the
animals, who express themselves only by cries and sounds. It is the language of the spirit which speaks to
God. When, in prayer, we are freed from all outward things and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts
we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we converse with God and hear the
answer. ... All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of God

If one friend loves another, is it not natural that he should wish to say so? Though he knows that that
friend is aware of his love, does he still not wish to tell him of it? It is true that God knows the wishes of
all hearts; but the impulse to pray is a natural one, springing from man's love to God.
... Prayer need not be in words, but rather in thought and action. 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, finding neither love nor enjoyment in the meeting, do you wish to converse with him?
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-Bahá

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?
Baha'u'llah and the New Era

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Remembrance of God is like the rain and dew which bestow freshness and grace on flowers and
hyacinths, revive them and cause them to acquire fragrance, redolence and renewed charm. "And thou
hast seen the earth dried up and barren: but when we send down the rain upon it, it stirreth and swelleth,
and groweth every kind of luxuriant herb." Strive thou, then, to praise and glorify God by night and by
day, that thou mayest attain infinite freshness and beauty.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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.
Baha'u'llah

H e is the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful! O God, my God! Thou seest me, Thou knowest me; Thou

art my Haven and my Refuge. None have I sought nor any will I seek save Thee; no path have I trodden
nor any will I tread but the path of Thy love. In the darksome night of despair, my eye turneth expectant
and full of hope to the morn of Thy boundless favor and at the hour of dawn my drooping soul is
refreshed and strengthened in remembrance of Thy beauty and perfection. He whom the grace of Thy
mercy aideth, though he be but a drop, shall become the boundless ocean, and the merest atom which the
outpouring of Thy loving kindness assisteth, shall shine even as the radiant star.
Shelter under Thy protection, O Thou Spirit of purity, Thou Who art the All-Bountiful Provider, this
enthralled, enkindled servant of Thine. Aid him in this world of being to remain steadfast and firm in
Thy love and grant that this broken-winged bird attain a refuge and shelter in Thy divine nest that
abideth upon the celestial tree.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá

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 The Devotional Attitude

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. Let not thy
tongue pay lip service in praise of God while thy heart be not
attuned to the exalted Summit of Glory, and the Focal Point of
communion. Thus if haply thou dost live in the Day of Resurrection,
the mirror of thy heart will be set towards Him Who is the Day-Star
of Truth; and no sooner will His light shine forth than the splendour
thereof shall forthwith be reflected in thy heart. For He is the Source
of all goodness, and unto Him revert all things.
Bab

Take heed lest excessive reading and too many acts of piety in the daytime and in the night season make
you vainglorious. Should a person recite but a single verse from the Holy Writings in a spirit of joy and
radiance, this would be better for him than reciting wearily all the Scriptures of God, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting. Recite ye the verses of God in such measure that ye be not overtaken with fatigue or
boredom. Burden not your souls so as to cause exhaustion and weigh them down, but rather endeavour
to lighten them, that they may soar on the wings of revealed Verses unto the dawning-place of His signs.
This is conducive to nearer access unto God, were ye to comprehend.

Baha'u'llah-Kitab-i-Aqdas

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.

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…It is an axiomatic fact that while you meditate you are speaking with your own spirit. In that state of
mind you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality
is revealed....The spirit of man is itself informed and strengthened during meditation; through it affairs of
which man knew nothing are unfolded before his view. Through it he receives Divine inspiration, through
it he receives heavenly food.

Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries. In that state man abstracts himself: in that state
man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of
spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things-in-themselves....

The meditative faculty is akin to the mirror; if you put it before earthly objects it will reflect them.
Therefore if the spirit of man is contemplating earthly subjects he will be informed of these. But if you
turn the mirror of your spirits heavenwards, the heavenly constellations and the rays of the Sun of Reality
will be reflected in your hearts, and the virtues of the Kingdom will be obtained....May we indeed become
mirrors reflecting the heavenly realities, and may we become so pure as to reflect the stars of heaven.
`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks

It is seemly that the servant should, after each prayer, supplicate God to bestow mercy and forgiveness
upon his parents…. Blessed is he who remembereth his parents when communing with God. There is,
verily, no God but Him, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved.
Bab

Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls
of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace
the truth of this Cause--a Cause through which the potentialities of the might of God have been revealed,
and His sovereignty established. With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him. This is the changeless
Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it; and as to him that
hath refused to seek it -verily, God is Self-Sufficient, above any need of His creatures.
Baha'u'llah-Kitab-i-Aqdas

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- Ligt of Guidance

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 Obligatory Prayer
The use of prayer and the contemplation of sacred scripture are enjoined upon Bahá'ís in no uncertain
terms. Bahá'u'lláh says in the Kitab-i-Aqdas:

Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been faithful
to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this Day is
of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all.
Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for
were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with
lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Read ye the sacred verses in
such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency. Lay not upon your souls that which
will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar
on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning-place of His manifest signs; this will draw you
nearer to God, did ye but comprehend.

Cling firmly to obligatory prayer and fasting. Verily, the religion of God is like unto heaven; fasting is its
sun, and obligatory prayer is its moon. In truth, they are the pillars of religion whereby the righteous are
distinguished from those who transgress His commandments. We entreat God, exalted and glorified be
He, that he may graciously enable all to observe that which He hath revealed in His Ancient Book.

…concerning obligatory prayer, it hath been revealed in such wise that whosoever reciteth it, even one
time, with a detached heart, will find himself wholly severed from the world.
Bahaullah

... the obligatory prayers are by their very nature of greater effectiveness and are endowed with a greater
power than the non-obligatory ones ..."

On behalf of Shoghi Effendi, "Spiritual Foundations"

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Know thou that in every word and movement of the obligatory prayer there are allusions, mysteries and a
wisdom that man is unable to comprehend, and letters and scrolls cannot contain.

Obligatory prayer and supplication cause man to reach the kingdom of mystery, and the worship of the
Supreme One. They bestow nearness unto His threshold. There is a pleasure in offering prayers that
transcendeth all other pleasures, and there is sweetness in chanting and singing the verses of God which
is the greatest desire of all the believers, men and women alike. While reciting the Obligatory Prayer, one
converseth intimately and shareth secrets with the true Beloved. No pleasure is greater than this, if one
proceedeth with a detached soul, with tears overflowing, with a trusting heart and an eager spirit. Every
joy is earthly save this one, the sweetness of which is divine.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, "Spiritual Foundations"

I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at

this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none
other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Bahá’u’lláh-Short obligatory prayer

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O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in

Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy
and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not
dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.
`Abdu'l-Bahá

O compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made me conscious. Thou hast

given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear, hast led me to Thy kingdom and guided me to
Thy path. Thou hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the ark of deliverance. O God! Keep
me steadfast and make me firm and staunch. Protect me from violent tests, and preserve and shelter me
in the strongly fortified fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament. Thou art the Powerful. Thou art the
Seeing. Thou art the Hearing.
O Thou the Compassionate God. Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto glass, may be illumined with
the light of Thy love, and confer upon me thoughts which may change this world into a rose garden
through the outpourings of heavenly grace.
Thou art the Compassionate, the Merciful. Thou art the Great Beneficent God.
`Abdu'l-Bahá