Truthseeker
Non-debating member when I can help myself
The Divine Art of Living
Chapter 5 Prayer and Meditation – Developing a Prayerful Attitude
O Son of Glory! Be swift in the path of holiness, and enter the heaven of communion with Me. Cleanse thy heart with the burnish of the spirit, and hasten to the court of the Most High.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", p8
I suppose being swift in the path of holiness means being as swift as we can manage.
Under the influence of such tremendous thoughts as these I one day asked &‘Abdu’l-Bahá how it could ever be possible for me, deep in the mass of weak and selfish humanity, ever to hope to attain when the goal was so high and great. He said that it is to be accomplished little by little; little by little. And I thought to myself, I have all eternity for this journey from self to God. The thing to do is to get started.
Howard Colby Ives, "Portals to Freedom"
holy: 3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
This might happen faster than acquiring spiritual qualities if we apply ourselves to be such.
Being holy presumably helps to commune with God more. Cleansing the heart also gets us there.
burnish: 1a: to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing
Baha'u'llah talks elsewhere about cleaning dross from the mirror of our heart.
Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted through their own unaided efforts, nor can it ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross. It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out from the face of the mirror it can never represent the image of the sun nor reflect its light and glory.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/644909549
We need help from God to receive the spirit to cleanse the mirror, and this is done through prayer. Saying the words kindles the spirit depending on the receptivity. Being dedicated to serving God and man also kindles the spirit.
Set all thy hope in God, and cleave tenaciously to His unfailing mercy. Who else but Him can enrich the destitute, and deliver the fallen from his abasement?
Bahá’u’lláh, "Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh", 153
We need to cling to His mercy, and believe in His mercy, though circumstances may not sometimes make it look that way. We need to not be too hard on ourselves, and allow God to raise us up through His mercy.
Depend thou upon God. Forsake thine own will and cling to His, set aside thine own desires and lay hold of His, that thou mayest become an example, holy, spiritual, and of the Kingdom, unto His handmaids.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá", 38.2
Hard for me to align myself always with His will. As much as I do, I will be spiritualized, and be a prayer in action.
True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget aught else beside Him.
Bahá’u’lláh, "Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas", 10.6
To make mention of Baha'u'llah, who is as high as an embodiment of God as we can know, is to teach and also to pray. Little by little, we should be filled only with the remembrance of God.
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.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.21
Group prayers have their place, but the best way to pray is in private. I can't relate very well to prayers said by others compared to myself saying prayers on my own in private. Sometimes I am more receptive to the prayer I utter than others.
Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God’s creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2
Baha'u'llah reveals that paradise is nearness to God. We may not feel close to God when we worship, but nevertheless we should do it anyway. Fear of hell if we don't pray is not worthy. The motivation of reward of feeling close to God by praying to Him is something that we should evolve beyond. The motive should should be expressing our love for God and asking for qualities that will serve mankind by praying and being obedient by saying the obligatory devotions.
Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2.2
Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God’s good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God’s favor and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2.3
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 Writings of the Báb", 3.2.4
Prolongation of prayer should not be offered in the hope that this will win God's pleasure. Prayer should be said as much as will uplift the spirit and cover the bases of what is asked for from God.
Prayer verily bestoweth life, particularly when offered in private and at times, such as midnight, when freed from daily cares.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá", 172.1
At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save Him.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Kitáb-i-Íqán", 214
I am a night owl, and if I get up early to say dawn prayers I don't think I will be able to get back to sleep. Maybe the spirit of this teaching is that we should commune with God soon after we get up in the morning? If we become wayward, we need to pray at that time to get closer to God.
Chapter 5 Prayer and Meditation – Developing a Prayerful Attitude
O Son of Glory! Be swift in the path of holiness, and enter the heaven of communion with Me. Cleanse thy heart with the burnish of the spirit, and hasten to the court of the Most High.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh", p8
I suppose being swift in the path of holiness means being as swift as we can manage.
Under the influence of such tremendous thoughts as these I one day asked &‘Abdu’l-Bahá how it could ever be possible for me, deep in the mass of weak and selfish humanity, ever to hope to attain when the goal was so high and great. He said that it is to be accomplished little by little; little by little. And I thought to myself, I have all eternity for this journey from self to God. The thing to do is to get started.
Howard Colby Ives, "Portals to Freedom"
holy: 3: devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity
This might happen faster than acquiring spiritual qualities if we apply ourselves to be such.
Being holy presumably helps to commune with God more. Cleansing the heart also gets us there.
burnish: 1a: to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing
Baha'u'llah talks elsewhere about cleaning dross from the mirror of our heart.
Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted through their own unaided efforts, nor can it ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross. It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out from the face of the mirror it can never represent the image of the sun nor reflect its light and glory.
(Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh)
www.bahai.org/r/644909549
We need help from God to receive the spirit to cleanse the mirror, and this is done through prayer. Saying the words kindles the spirit depending on the receptivity. Being dedicated to serving God and man also kindles the spirit.
Set all thy hope in God, and cleave tenaciously to His unfailing mercy. Who else but Him can enrich the destitute, and deliver the fallen from his abasement?
Bahá’u’lláh, "Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh", 153
We need to cling to His mercy, and believe in His mercy, though circumstances may not sometimes make it look that way. We need to not be too hard on ourselves, and allow God to raise us up through His mercy.
Depend thou upon God. Forsake thine own will and cling to His, set aside thine own desires and lay hold of His, that thou mayest become an example, holy, spiritual, and of the Kingdom, unto His handmaids.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá", 38.2
Hard for me to align myself always with His will. As much as I do, I will be spiritualized, and be a prayer in action.
True remembrance is to make mention of the Lord, the All-Praised, and forget aught else beside Him.
Bahá’u’lláh, "Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas", 10.6
To make mention of Baha'u'llah, who is as high as an embodiment of God as we can know, is to teach and also to pray. Little by little, we should be filled only with the remembrance of God.
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.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.21
Group prayers have their place, but the best way to pray is in private. I can't relate very well to prayers said by others compared to myself saying prayers on my own in private. Sometimes I am more receptive to the prayer I utter than others.
Worship thou God in such wise that if thy worship lead thee to the fire, no alteration in thine adoration would be produced, and so likewise if thy recompense should be paradise. Thus and thus alone should be the worship which befitteth the one True God. Shouldst thou worship Him because of fear, this would be unseemly in the sanctified Court of His presence, and could not be regarded as an act by thee dedicated to the Oneness of His Being. Or if thy gaze should be on paradise, and thou shouldst worship Him while cherishing such a hope, thou wouldst make God’s creation a partner with Him, notwithstanding the fact that paradise is desired by men.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2
Baha'u'llah reveals that paradise is nearness to God. We may not feel close to God when we worship, but nevertheless we should do it anyway. Fear of hell if we don't pray is not worthy. The motivation of reward of feeling close to God by praying to Him is something that we should evolve beyond. The motive should should be expressing our love for God and asking for qualities that will serve mankind by praying and being obedient by saying the obligatory devotions.
Fire and paradise both bow down and prostrate themselves before God. That which is worthy of His Essence is to worship Him for His sake, without fear of fire, or hope of paradise.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2.2
Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God’s good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God’s favor and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.
The Báb, "Selections from the Writings of the Báb", 3.2.3
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 Writings of the Báb", 3.2.4
Prolongation of prayer should not be offered in the hope that this will win God's pleasure. Prayer should be said as much as will uplift the spirit and cover the bases of what is asked for from God.
Prayer verily bestoweth life, particularly when offered in private and at times, such as midnight, when freed from daily cares.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, "Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá", 172.1
At the dawn of every day he should commune with God, and with all his soul persevere in the quest of his Beloved. He should consume every wayward thought with the flame of His loving mention, and, with the swiftness of lightning, pass by all else save Him.
Bahá’u’lláh, "The Kitáb-i-Íqán", 214
I am a night owl, and if I get up early to say dawn prayers I don't think I will be able to get back to sleep. Maybe the spirit of this teaching is that we should commune with God soon after we get up in the morning? If we become wayward, we need to pray at that time to get closer to God.