Sunday, October 7, 2007

What's the Use of Praying ?

Today's selection from Reality is another one that compels me to keep my commentary brief.

Seems to be extremely clear advice...

"As to thy question, 'Why pray? What is the wisdom thereof, for God has established everything and executes all affairs after the best order and He ordains everything according to a becoming measure and puts things in their places with the greatest of perfection— therefore what is the wisdom in beseeching and supplicating and in stating one’s wants and seeking help?'

"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-Bahá, quoted in Esslemont: Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 93