Dawn Prayers

Pathway to Peace

Illumine, O Lord, the faces of Thy servants, that they may behold Thee; and cleanse their hearts that they may turn unto the court of Thy heavenly favors....
They that have forsaken their country for the purpose of teaching Our Cause—these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power....
Forgive the sins of my loving mother, pardon her shortcomings, cast upon her the glance of Thy gracious providence, and enable her to gain admittance into Thy Kingdom....
Aid me, O my Lord, to set myself towards Thee, and to hearken unto the voice of Thy loved ones....
Lauded be Thy name, O my God and the God of all things, my Glory and the Glory of all things, my Desire and the Desire of all things, my Strength and the Strength of all things, my King and the King of all things, my Aim and the Aim of all things, my Mover and the Mover of all things! 
Every time I attempt to make mention of Thee, I am hindered by the sublimity of Thy station and the overpowering greatness of Thy might....
Awaken me and make me conscious....
Perplexing difficulties have arisen and formidable obstacles have appeared....

Talk: The Nature of the Soul

Plato said, "Knowledge of the soul is the only universal truth, and the only wisdom. The soul begins its life in stark purity, with no attributes, no imperfections. The natural world is the soul's spiritual birthplace for the world to come. Every religious definition of the soul depicts an elemental spirit that transcends death and progresses through all eternity.
Douglas Gilbert is the author and narrator of this talk.

Forgiveness, Friendship, Unifying Mankind

I have committed O my lord my spirit and my entire being into the right hand of thy might and protection. 
 Every time I venture to make mention of Thee, I am held back by my mighty sins and grievous trespasses against Thee, and find myself wholly deprived of Thy grace, and utterly powerless to celebrate Thy praise.  
Now is the time for the lovers of God to raise high the banners of unity, to intone, in the assemblages of the world, the verses of friendship and love and to demonstrate to all that the grace of God is one. 
God has chosen you for His love and knowledge;  God has chosen you for the worthy service of unifying mankind; God has chosen you for the purpose of investigating reality and promulgating international peace
The stream of Thy holy utterance hath enraptured me, and the wine of Thine inspiration entranced me.
I am the royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every broken bird and start it on its flight.

Beyond the Veil: Women, Power and Protection

...do not consider thyself to be insignificant by doubting what a handmaiden living behind the veil can do….
Give me to drink from the cup of Thy bestowal and illumine my face with the light of guidance. 
 I ask of Thee, by Thy Hidden and Treasured Name, that none knoweth save Thine own Self, to protect the bearer of this Tablet from every calamity and pestilence, and from every wicked man and woman; from the evil of the evil-doers, and from the scheming of the unbelievers. 
One of Thy handmaidens, who hath believed in Thee and in Thy signs, hath entered beneath the shadow of the tree of Thy oneness. Give her to quaff, O my God, by Thy Name, the Manifest and the Hidden, of Thy choice sealed Wine that it may take her away from her own self, and make her to be entirely devoted to Thy remembrance, and wholly detached from any one beside Thee.
Unite all.  Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home.  May they all live together in perfect harmony.
Refresh and gladden my spirit.  Purify my heart.  Illumine my powers.  I lay all my affairs in Thy hand.  Thou art my Guide and my Refuge.
Keep us beneath Thy Shelter, and by Thy Help save us from all ills.  Thou art, indeed, the True Protector, the Unseen Guardian, the Celestial Preserver, and the Heavenly Loving Lord.
Help Thou Thy loved ones to be steadfast in Thy mighty Covenant, to remain faithful to Thy manifest Cause, and to carry out the commandments Thou didst set down for them in Thy Book of Splendors; that they may become banners of guidance and lamps of the Company above, wellsprings of Thine infinite wisdom, and stars that lead aright, as they shine down from the supernal sky.

Praise and Assistance

O god, my god, lowly and tearful...
O thou who endowed every just power and equitable dominion with abiding power...
Consider not your present merits and capacities, rather fix your gaze on the favors and confirmation of the blessed beauty...
Cast Thy glance of favor upon us. Give light to our eyes, hearing to our ears...
Thou knowest that the people are encircles with pain and calamities...
I entreat Thee by Thy name through which the hour hath struck...
 Cause me to speak forth Thy praise...
 I have no refuge save Thee. I raise no voice at dawn save in Thy commemoration and praise...

A Daily Cup of Prayer

O people of baha blessed are the people of baha god beareth me witness they are the solace of the eye of creation. 
Although these beings coexist in a contingent world, in each case the difference in their stations precludeth the grasp of the whole.
In His name, the Exalted, the All Highest, the Most Sublime. Glorified art Thou O Lord my God.
O son of spirit my claim on thee is great. It cannot be forgotten. My grace to thee is plentious, it cannot be veiled.
O my God, Thou forgiver of sins,  bestower of gifts, dispeller of affliction. Verily I beseech thee to forgive…
I give thanks to Thee O my God, that thou has suffered me to remember Thee.
Give ear, O peoples of the earth, unto that which the pen of the Lord of All Nations commandeth you.

Morning Reflection

Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart...
I have wakened in Thy shelter, O my God, and it becometh him that seeketh that shelter to abide within the Sanctuary of Thy protection and the Stronghold of Thy defense...
Say: Rejoice not in the things ye possess; tonight they are yours, tomorrow others will possess them. Thus warneth you He Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Informed...
O My Brother! A pure heart is as a mirror; cleanse it with the burnish of love and severance from all save God, that the true sun may shine within it and the eternal morning dawn...
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee by Thy Name through which the Hour hath struck...
O God, my God!  These are Thy feeble servants; they are Thy loyal bondsmen and Thy handmaidens, who have bowed themselves down before Thine exalted Utterance and humbled themselves at Thy Threshold of light...
Thou seest me, O my Lord, with my face turned towards the heaven of Thy bounty and the ocean of Thy favor, withdrawn from all else beside Thee...
I give praise to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast awakened me out of my sleep, and brought me forth after my disappearance...
 

The Tablet of Ahmad

“These daily obligatory prayers, together with a few other specific ones, such as the Healing Prayer, the Tablet of Ahmad, have been invested by Bahá’u’lláh with a special potency and significance, and should therefore be accepted as such and be recited by the believers with unquestioning faith and confidence, that through them they may enter into a much closer communion with God, and identify themselves more fully with His laws and precepts.“  —From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi
He is the King, the All-Knowing, the Wise!  Lo, the Nightingale of Paradise singeth upon the twigs of the Tree of Eternity, with holy and sweet melodies, proclaiming to the sincere ones the glad tidings of the nearness of God, calling the believers in the Divine Unity to the court of the Presence of the Generous One, informing the severed ones of the message which hath been revealed by God, the King, the Glorious, the Peerless, guiding the lovers to the seat of sanctity and to this resplendent Beauty...

Peace and Bounty

O ye sons and daughters of the Kingdom! Thankful, the birds of the spirit seek only to fly in the high heavens and to sing out their songs with wondrous art. But the pitiable earthworms love only to tunnel into the ground, and what a mighty struggle they make to get themselves down into its depths! Even so are the sons of earth. 
Glory be to Thee, O King of eternity, and the Maker of nations, and the Fashioner of every moldering bone!  I pray Thee, by Thy Name through which Thou didst call all mankind unto the horizon of Thy majesty and glory, and didst guide Thy servants to the court of Thy grace and favors, to number me with such as have rid themselves from everything except Thyself...
O Lord of loving-kindness! We stray about Thy dwelling, longing to behold Thy beauty, and loving all Thy ways. We are hapless, lowly, and of small account.
The time must come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world's Great Peace amongst men. 
God has crowned you with honor and set in your heart a radiant star.
Thou knowest, O my God, that all Thy servants have turned back from Thee and risen up against Thee. Thou knowest that Thou hast no one to obey Thee except them and such have believed Thy revelation.

Ridvan

Praise be to Thee, O Thou our Lord the Most Merciful! This is one of the days of the festival Thou hast named Riḍván, a festival wherein Thou hast manifested Thy sovereignty over all who are in Thy heavens and on Thine earth, notwithstanding that the people have arisen to harm Thee and to extinguish Thy light, and wherein the Luminary of Thy oneness hath shone forth from the dayspring of Thy House upon all things visible and invisible.