The Baha\u2019i Faith is both a religion and a way of life. Baha\u2019u\u2019llah did not make a distinction between the two \u2013 what people believe should be reflected in what they do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his writings, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah repeatedly reminded his followers that the teachings of God must be manifested in one\u2019s deeds and integrated into one\u2019s life: \u201cLet deeds, not words, be your adorning.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 The Hidden Words<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RELATED: Conversation and Action: How Words Become Deeds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many distinctive aspects contribute to the Baha\u2019i<\/a> way of life. Among these, perhaps the most fundamental is the role of prayer in daily life. In one form or another, prayer forms an integral part of every religion, but in this age Baha\u2019u\u2019llah has expanded its definition \u2013 so that it now encompasses feelings, thoughts, words and actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do people pray? This is not something which has always been clear and evident to me. When I was a child I used to say my bedtime prayers kneeling beside my bed with my mother watching over me. I used to say: \u201cNow I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, but if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take …\u201d This would be followed by a long list of people I should not forget in my prayers: \u201cBless mommy and daddy and grandma and granddad and …\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After saying my prayers, being tucked in and kissed goodnight, I would lie awake in the darkness and ask myself, Why should people pray? If God was All-Knowing, then wouldn\u2019t He already know what we wanted and needed without our having to ask? What was the point in praying? Did God need me to worship Him? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more I thought about this, the less I understood about prayer. Finally, I stopped thinking about it because I stopped praying. I was getting too old to be tucked in or stood over. I still believed in God but I regarded prayer as useless. By the time I found the Baha\u2019i Faith, I had begun to suspect that all along I had been asking the wrong questions about prayer. Day-to-day living had taught me that some questions can be so loaded with presuppositions that people do not know where to look for the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In studying the Baha\u2019i Faith, I began to see that the individual, not God, benefits from the experience of prayer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prayer was for our sake, not His. With regard to who needed what, I had been looking in the wrong direction, upwards instead of inwards. Now I started to understand the purpose of prayer \u2013 seeing the impulse to pray as a natural one. People pray because they love God. The created loves the Creator. The love of God is all around us, and prayer is a means of receiving it. In The Hidden Words<\/em>, Baha\u2019u\u2019llah<\/a> explained the nature of this Divine love:<\/p>\n\n\n\n O Son of Being! Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this, O servant. \u2013 Ibid<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Understanding the purpose of prayer was only the beginning. I started praying again, but now they were not the simple bedtime prayers of childhood. On my thirteenth birthday, my mother gave me a Baha\u2019i prayer book, and I had soon memorized many of them from constant use. Now I chose a moment when no one was home, and read the Baha\u2019i prayers in a loving, meditative way. I had my favorites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n O God! O God! This is a broken-winged bird and his flight is very slow \u2013 assist him so that he may fly towards the apex of prosperity and salvation, wing his way with the utmost joy and happiness throughout the illimitable space, raise his melody in Thy Supreme Name in all the regions, exhilarate the ears with this call, and brighten the eyes by beholding the signs of guidance. O Lord! I am single, alone and lowly. For me there is no support save Thee, no helper except Thee and no sustainer beside Thee. Confirm me in Thy service, assist me with the cohorts of Thy angels, make me victorious in the promotion of Thy Word and suffer me to speak out Thy wisdom amongst Thy creatures. Verily, Thou art the helper of the weak and the defender of the little ones, and verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty and the Unconstrained. \u2013 Abdu\u2019l-Baha, Baha\u2019i Prayers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n As I continued to study the Baha\u2019i writings, prayer gradually became an important part of my way of life. I found solace, peace and connection to the Creator there. I reserved a portion of each day for prayer and reading from the writings of Baha\u2019u\u2019llah. It was like water to a thirsty soul:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prayerful condition is the best of all conditions, for man in such a state communeth with God, especially when prayer is offered in private and at times when one\u2019s mind is free … Indeed, prayer imparteth life. \u2013 Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/a>, from a tablet to an individual Baha\u2019i. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nThe Purpose of Prayer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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