Comments on: 5 Steps for Transforming Prayer into Action

By: Wendy Scott

Wendy Scott — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:00:09 +0000

In reply to Judith Poltz. Sorry for repeating. It didn't seem like my first message had posted.

By: Wendy Scott

Wendy Scott — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:39:56 +0000

In reply to Judith Poltz. And yet it is true, is it not, that many fail. I think the idea is a reminder not to be among those who do.

By: Wendy Scott

Wendy Scott — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:39:12 +0000

In reply to Judith Poltz. But isn't it the truth that many fail? We're called on to do better, to be what many fail to be. I don't think it's a bad thing to be reminded of that.

By: Carla Sperandeo

Carla Sperandeo — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 11:40:39 +0000

Reviewing these 5 steps was actually born out of my prayer and meditation and helped to form my decision. Thank you for sharing my beautiful Baha’i brother.

By: Judith Poltz

Judith Poltz — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 20:39:40 +0000

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, in his very helpful book, “The Power of Positive Thinking”, advises us to “give no counsel to your fear.” Other motivational speakers say, “ignore the naysayers.” Taking this advice to heart, I would edit Ruth Moffit’s five steps to delete the defeatist sentences. (at step 3), delete “Many fail here. The decision…becomes…a vague longing.” And delete most of the paragraph at the end, “Many fail…few have the determination…still fewer…how many remember…” How discouraging are these phrases! The rest is great. Abdu’l-Baha is always encouraging. It is human to add our own interpretations. It is helpful, in my opinion, to remove the human interpretation and preserve the helpful guidance of the message.

By: Robbie Sims

Robbie Sims — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 02:05:27 +0000

This was very interesting and informative. It truly shows people of different faiths are not that different after all.

By: Jay Jarrett

Jay Jarrett — Wed, 11 Feb 2015 16:45:40 +0000

An excellent life living practice…Observe and contemplate in deeper silence away from noise. Doing it way before sunrise is best time and doing it again before going to sleep, practice it daily without skipping. Let me know about the result. God Bless. Thanks for sharing.

By: Carol Campbell

Carol Campbell — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 17:27:45 +0000

I was blessed to spend some time with dear Ruth but still have not put these fabulous steps into practice! Ugh. Thank you for the reminder!!

By: Charles David Boyle

Charles David Boyle — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 00:22:23 +0000

Love that quote.
My wife once memorably described a particularly outspoken Christian colleague with who she worked as ‘Agreat servant of God, in an advisorgcspacity” as this person was always telling God what to do – save her soul, open her eyes and such. Well, in like manner we do not serve God in an advisory capacity but respond to whatever circumstance confronts ys – a concern for peace, a moment of thankfulness, an appeal for health, to resolve a problem by offering prayers less perhaps the words, but the inner promptings and motivation of our heartsand it is the extent of tjis motivation which perhaps attracts some measure of Divine grace and mobilises it for the purpose of the Will of God however that might be defined.
Thus we might take from the world every opportunity for gratitude, for patience, for purposefulness and more, and allow them to prompt our prayerful concern. We might look at these opportunities in evef finer detail and scale, prominence and duration until they align ever more closely with our every smallest action and gesture of attitude until our lives become a continuous state of prayer, a state also asked of us by ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
We may see war and while our prayers may be for peace, peace may not be the answer, though the compassion wd show and yearnings out of love and concern might be put to work in this or some unrelated issue, and we can use these occasions to reflect on the level of compassion and love in our hearts.
In this way no prayer goes unanswered and our lives gradually adopt a spiritual attitude and thoughtfulness.
At least that’s how it might work.