Dawn Prayers

Divine Springtime

We are saplings which have been planted by the fingers of thy bounty and have been formed by the water and clay of thy tender affection.
Grant by Thy bounty that they may not be kept back from Thee. Make them able to soar in the atmosphere of Thy nearness.
Thank God that ye have come into existence in this radiant century wherein the bestowals of God are appearing from all directions.
The day has come when all darkness is to be dispelled, and the Sun of Truth shall shine forth radiantly… For verily, this is the spring season of God.
In the spring, there are clouds which send down the precious rain, the musk-scented breezes and the life giving zephyrs.
This period of time is the promised age… Soon the whole world, as in springtime, will change its garb.
The first stirrings of the spring of Thy grace have appeared, and clothed Thy earth.
Every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, Baha’u’llah addresses God, I am made to recognize the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty.

He is the prayer hearing, prayer answering God

It will be even as meeting Him face to face.  
 The nature of the soul after death can never be described.
It is not his to boast who loveth his country, but it is his who loveth the world.
Create in me a pure heart, O my God.
He is the prayer hearing, prayer answering God.
I hear thou art grieved and distressed by the happenings of the world.
Thou hast brought into being all created things through the power of thy behest.
Unto Thee I repair for refuge and toward all Thy signs I have set me heart.
I am with you in all that you do, even in the most menial task.
 Thou hast breathed over the friends in the West, the sweet fragrance of the Holy Spirit.

I have fasted for the love of Thee

Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto thy servants… is but a token of grace unto them. 
The sword of upright conduct and a goodly character is sharper than blades of steel.
Fasting is the supreme remedy and the most healing for the disease of self and passion.
I have believed in Thee after Thou hast enabled me to know Thyself. I have embraced His truth, and the truth of all the wondrous laws and precepts that have been set down by Him.
This fast leadeth to the cleansing of the soul from all selfish desires. Fasting is the cause of the elevation of one’s spiritual station.
Send down upon me and upon them who are in my company, that which will enable us to soar into the heavens of Thy transcendent glory.
O Divine Providence, shield and protect my soul and fast from the mention of all else besides thee.

Unity

O divine providence, this assemblage is composed of Thy friends who are attracted to Thy beauty and are set ablaze by the fire of Thy love.
This century, the century of lights, has been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory, power, and illumination. The first candle is unity in the political realm.
O God my God, aid Thou Thy trusted servants to have loving and tender hearts.
O sincere servant of the True One, I hear thou art grieved and distressed at the happenings of the world and the visissitudes of fortune.
Let there be no mistake, the principle of oneness of mankind, the pivot round which all the teachings of Baha’u’llah revolve…calls for reconstruction and demilitarization of the whole civilized world.
Diversity endows the human family with richness. Just as different colored flowers enrich a garden, diversity gives society natural beauty and strength. Unity in diversity, not uniformity, is thus the watchword for Baha’i teachings.
O Lord, conceal not the light which Thou hast revealed through Thy strength and Thy omnipotence. Assist me then, and those who truly believe in Thee, with the hosts of the seen and the unseen.
My utmost desire, firstly, is the accord, and union, and love of the believers, and after that, of all the peoples of the world.
Unite the hearts of Thy servants, and reveal to them Thy great purpose.
Truth has many aspects, but it remains always and forever, one.

Wealth

May my spirit be a sacrifice to the wrongs Thou didst suffer, and my soul be a ransom for the adversities Thou didst sustain.
This century, the century of light, hath been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory, power, and illumination.
Certainly, with some being enormously rich, and others lamentably poor, an organization is necessary to control and improve this state of affairs.
Baha’u’llah is unequivocally clear in His assertion that true wealth is spiritual wealth.
The teachings of Baha’u’llah advocate voluntary sharing, and this is a greater thing than the equalization of wealth.
Given the vital role of economic activity in the advancement of civilization, visible evidence of the pace at which development is  progressing, will be the extent to which women gain access to  all avenues of economic endeavor.
May we all follow Thy pathway, long for Thy good pleasure, and seek the mysteries of Thy kingdom.

Loneliness

I bear withness that he who hath known Ye hath known God.
Thou didst lift their parched lips to the water of union. Thou dost calm their pain with the balm of Thy bounty and grace.
At the innermost core of all loneliness is a deep and powerful yearning for union with one’s lost self.
The darkness of this gloomy night shall pass away. Again the sun of reality will dawn from the horizon of the heart. Have patience.
I am nearer than you think, richly present in all your moments. Ask Me to open your eyes, so that you can find me everywhere.
This is a broken winged bird and his filght is very slow. Assist him that he may fly toward the apex of prosperity and salvation.
Thou hearest the sigh of those who, though they long to behold Thy face, are yet separated from Thee.
Oh Lord, the ocean of rebellion is surging, and these tempests will not be stilled, save through Thy boundless grace.

Science and Faith

Bless Thou, O Lord my God, the divine lote tree, and its leaves and its boughs, and its branches and its stems, and its offshoots, as long as thy most excellent titles will endure and Thy most august  attributes will last.
Knowledge is as wings to man’s life and a ladder for his ascent. It’s acquisition is incumbent upon everyone.
The impossibility of conceiving that this grand and wondrous universe with our conscious selves arose through chance, seems to me the chief argument for the existence of God.
O Son of the Throne! Thy hearing is my hearing, hear Thou therewith…that in mine inmost soul, I may bear witness unto an exalted station of thee.
Baha'u'llah teaches that science and the art of healing must be developed, encouraged, and perfected so that all means of healing can be used for the best advantage.
The acquisition of sciences and the perfection of arts are considered acts of worship.
This scientific power investigates, and apprehends created objects, and the laws surrounding them… The most noble and praiseworthy accomplishment of man therefore is scientific knowledge nd attainment.
Just as the earth attracts everything to the center of gravity, and every object thrown upward into space will come down, so also materal ideas and worldly thoughts attract man to the center of self.
This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the council and dominion of an intelligent and powerful being.
Come forth from the sheath of self and desire, that thy worth may be made resplendent and manifest unto all the world.

The Ocean of Healing

O ye gathering with God, blessed are ye.
I beg of Thee by Thy name…through which Thou changes all things…guard this handmaiden…who hath put her whole trust and confidence in Thee.
I beg of Thee by the ocean of Thy healing…purge me with the waters of Thy bounty from every affliction and disorder, and from all weakness and feebleness. 
Brighten our hearts with the splendor of Thy knowledge.
Let your princple concern be to rescue the fallen from the sloth of impending extinction and to help him embrace the ancient faith of God.
O Thou beloved of my heart and soul, I have no refuge save Thee.
Those words that have streamed forth from the source of power and descended from the heaven of glory are innumerable and beyond the ordinary comprehension of man.

Hope: an experience belonging to the soul

From the sweet scented streams of Thine eternity, give me to drink, O my God.   
Say, O people of the Bayan,…purge your sight, that ye may perceive its glory with your own eyes, and depend not on the sight of anyone except yourself.
O God, my God, Thou art my hope and my beloved, my highest aim and desire.
I had a cosmic epiphany today, Lord, that I require energy, the breath, of all other living creatures to sustain me…I felt gratitude and vulnerability colliding within me. From inside this cosmic lens, I experienced the whole fabric of life as a living, breathing organism, moving through and with me.
The winds of despair are, alas, blowing from every direction, and the strife that divideth and afflicteth the human race is daily increasing.
Never lose thy trust in God. Be thou ever hopeful, for the bounties of God never cease to flow upon man. Man is, under all conditions, immersed in the sea of God’s blessings. Therefore, be thou not hopeless under any circumstance.
Good character is verily the best mantle for man, on the part of God. By this, God adorns the temple of His friends.
O God, my God, look not upon my hopes and my doings,…. Make my prayer, O my Lord, a foundation of living waters, where I may live as long as Thy sovereignity endureth.

Bravery, discord, wisdom and mercy

Unto the Most Holy Book, everyone must turn, and all that is not expressly recorded therein, must be referred to the Universal House of Justice. It is verily the truth and the purpose of God Himself. Whoso doth deviate therefrom is verily of them that love discord.
I entreat Thee…to rain down out of the heaven of Thy mercy and the clouds of Thy tender compassion, what will gladden the hearts of Thy servants who have turned towards Thee and helped Thy cause.
The wisdom of prayer is this, that it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One.
Make us then to be of them who help Thee when fallen into the hands of those thine enemies who are numbered among the rebellious of Thy creatures.
O Thou whose nearness is my wish, Whose presence is my hope, Whose remembramce  Is my desire…I beseech Thee… to aid me to turn my face unto Thy face.   
The more often the pure gold is thrown into the furnace of tests, the greater will become its purity and brilliance, and it will acquire a new splendor and brightness.
Graciously look upon Thy servant, humble and lowly at Thy door, with the glances of  the eye of Thy mercy and immerse him in the ocean of Thy eternal grace.