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Private prayer
4. DEVOTION AND WORSHIP IN THE BAHA'I FAITH Hilary Freeman
'O Son of Light !
Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit. command, therefore turn unto it', said Baha'u'llah.
Baha'u'llah has ordained daily prayer for His followers. There are three obligatory prayers from which Baha'is may choose: a short prayer, to be recited between noon and sunset; one of medium length, which should be recited three times a day in the morning, at noon, and in the evening; or a long prayer to be recited once in twenty-four hours. The Short Obligatory Prayer is :
This is of the essence of My
'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'.
[Baha'u'llah]
In addition to the obligatory prayers, Baha'is are enjoined to pray and read the Holy Writings. twice a day, in the morning and evening; and meditation is given equal importance with prayer. There is no set form for such prayer and meditation and believers are free to choose according to their own wishes.
'Abdu'l-Baha (the son of Baha'u'llah) writes:
Through the faculty of meditation man attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit the bestowal of the Spirit is given in reflection and meditation. Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries..... This faculty of meditation frees man from the animal nature, discerns the reality of things, puts man in touch with God.
This faculty brings forth from the invisible plane, the sciences and arts. Through the meditative faculty inventions are made possible, colossal undertakings are carried out. [Paris Talks pp. 174-176]
'Abdu'l-Baha describes the state of prayer as bestowing life, and as being the best of all conditions. However, prayer is not offered solely by means of reciting the sacred verses, either in privacy or during shared worship. In the Baha'i Faith, work in the service of humanity is also elevated to the station of prayer.
'Abdu'l-Baha writes:
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