Whenever ye enter the
council-chamber, recite this prayer with a heart throbbing with the love of God
and a tongue purified from all but His remembrance, that the All-Powerful may
graciously aid you to achieve supreme victory.
O God, my God! We are servants of Thine that have turned with
devotion to Thy Holy Face, that have detached ourselves from all besides Thee
in this glorious Day. We have gathered in this Spiritual Assembly, united in
our views and thoughts, with our purposes harmonized to exalt Thy Word amidst
mankind. O Lord, our God! Make us the signs of Thy Divine Guidance, the
Standards of Thine exalted Faith amongst men, servants to Thy mighty Covenant,
O Thou our Lord Most High, manifestations of Thy Divine Unity in Thine Abhá
Kingdom, and resplendent stars shining upon all regions. Lord! Aid us to become
seas surging with the billows of Thy wondrous Grace, streams flowing from Thine
all-glorious Heights, goodly fruits upon the Tree of Thy
heavenly Cause, trees waving through the breezes of Thy Bounty in Thy celestial
Vineyard. O God! Make our souls dependent upon the Verses of Thy Divine Unity,
our hearts cheered with the outpourings of Thy Grace, that we may unite even as
the waves of one sea and become merged together as the rays of Thine effulgent
Light; that our thoughts, our views, our feelings may become as one reality,
manifesting the spirit of union throughout the world. Thou art the Gracious,
the Bountiful, the Bestower, the Almighty, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Come ye together in gladness unalloyed, and at the beginning of
the meeting, recite ye this prayer:
O Thou Lord of the Kingdom! Though our bodies be gathered here
together, yet our spellbound hearts are carried away by Thy love, and yet are
we transported by the rays of Thy resplendent face. Weak though we be, we await
the revelations of Thy might and power. Poor though we be, with neither goods
nor means, still take we riches from the treasures of
Thy Kingdom. Drops though we be, still do we draw from out Thy ocean deeps.
Motes though we be, still do we gleam in the glory of Thy splendid Sun.
O Thou our Provider! Send down Thine aid, that each one gathered
here may become a lighted candle, each one a center of attraction, each one a
summoner to Thy heavenly realms, till at last we make this nether world the
mirror image of Thy Paradise.
Prayer to be said at the close of the meeting of the Spiritual
Assembly.
O God! O God! From the unseen kingdom of Thy oneness behold us
assembled in this spiritual meeting, believing in Thee, confident in Thy signs,
firm in Thy Covenant and Testament, attracted to Thee, set aglow with the fire
of Thy love and sincere in Thy Cause. We are servants in Thy vineyard,
spreaders of Thy religion, devoted worshipers of Thy countenance, humble
towards Thy loved ones, submissive before Thy door, and imploring Thee to
confirm us in serving Thy chosen ones, to support us
with Thine unseen hosts, to strengthen our loins in Thy servitude and to make
us submissive and adoring subjects communing with Thee.
O our Lord! We are weak, and Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful. We
are lifeless, and Thou art the great life-giving Spirit. We are needy, and Thou
art the Sustainer, the Powerful.
O our Lord! Turn our faces unto Thy merciful countenance, feed us
from Thy heavenly table with Thine abundant grace, assist us with the hosts of
Thy supreme angels and confirm us through the holy ones of the Kingdom of Abhá.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Merciful. Thou art the
Possessor of great bounty, and, verily, Thou art the Clement and the Gracious.
—‘Abdu’l-Bahá