The Twin Luminaries of this resplendent age have taught us
this: Prayer is the essential spiritual conversation of the soul with its
Maker, direct and without intermediation. It is the spiritual food that
sustains the life of the spirit. Like the morning’s dew, it brings freshness to
the heart and cleanses it, purifying it from attachments of the insistent self.
It is a fire that burns away the veils and a light that leads to the ocean of
reunion with the Almighty. On its wings does the soul soar in the heavens of
God and draw closer to the divine reality. Upon its quality depends the
development of the limitless capacities of the soul and the attraction of the
bounties of God, but the prolongation of prayer is not desirable. The powers
latent in prayer are manifested when it is motivated by the love of God, beyond
any fear or favour, and free from ostentation and superstition. It is to be
expressed with a sincere and pure heart conducive to contemplation and meditation
so that the rational faculty can be illumined by its effects. Such prayer will
transcend the limitation of words and go well beyond mere sounds. The sweetness
of its melodies must gladden and uplift the heart and reinforce the penetrating
power of the Word, transmuting earthly inclinations into heavenly attributes
and inspiring selfless service to humankind.
(The Universal House of Justice, from a
message dated 18 December 2014 to the Baha’is in Iran)
