Humanity, Group – “Revive the souls through Thy most joyful glad-tidings”; “Give us everlasting life and grant us heavenly perfections”; “Make us instruments of concord”; “Confer upon us heavenly power and bestow upon us everlasting joy”

He is God.

O Thou kind Lord! Illumine the hearts with the light of Thy most great guidance. Revive the souls through Thy most joyful glad-tidings. Illumine the eyes by granting them to behold Thy lights. Make the ears attentive by causing them to hear Thy call. Enable us to enter the Kingdom of Thy holiness and quicken us with the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Give us everlasting life and grant us heavenly perfections. O Lord! Make our lives to be a ransom for Thy sake and bestow upon us a new spirit. Confer upon us heavenly power and bestow upon us everlasting joy. Confirm us in service to the world of humanity. Make us instruments of concord, binding together the hearts. O Lord! Awaken us from our slumber and grant us wisdom and understanding, that we may unravel the secrets of Thy Book and discover the mysteries that lie hid in Thy Words. Thou art the Almighty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Ever-Loving. 

- ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Believers – “Make them…the signs of Thy [God’s] Divine Unity amidst all people, and the emblems of Thy Oneness in Thy most exalted Realm”; “become inebriated with the wine of Thy[God’s] love”; Assistance

O God, my God! Assist Thou Thy servants who have found “at the fire a guide”,[Qur’an 20:10]  and have caught the light of the immortal flame kindled in the Tree of Sinai. Make them, O Lord, the signs of Thy Divine Unity amidst all people, and the emblems of Thy Oneness in Thy most exalted Realm. Give them to quaff from the wellspring of Thy mercy and from the clear waters flowing from Thy blissful paradise, that they may become inebriated with the wine of Thy love in the verdant meadows and vast gardens of Thy holiness. Assist them, O Lord, with the cohorts of the Supreme Horizon and the hosts of the Concourse on high. Thou, verily, art the Generous, the Compassionate, the Lord of grace and bounty unto Thy feeble servants! Thou, verily, art the Clement, the Merciful…. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; ‘Light of the World’)

Believers – Steadfastness; Spiritual growth; “ordain for them the best of this world and the world to come”; “Give them a truthful tongue among the people of the world”

[This supplication was revealed at a time when in some parts of Persia the believers were awaking to an understanding of the importance of the Covenant. (Star of the West, vol. 8, no.17, January 19, 1918)]

Praise be unto thee, O God, and glory be unto thee, O my Lord, for thou hast sent from among thy servants those whose consciences became clear; whose countenances were beautified; who flourished outwardly; became inwardly purified; whose faces became illumined; whose stars shone; whose hearts rejoiced; whose sorrows vanished; whose breasts dilated—when they heard the call of the Covenant.

They witnessed the signs of harmony; saw the light of dawn and responded to the Orb of the Horizons. Their faces radiated with the light of bounties and their tongues delighted in the mention of the Lord of great bestowals. They spoke with praise; were illumined with the light of guidance and became ignited with the blazing fire of the Tree of Sinai. They became firm in the Ancient Covenant; walked in the straight path; took hold of the mighty rope; turned to the manifest horizon and followed in the steps of the greatly refined. They gathered in the assembly of glory, in thy name, the Merciful, the Compassionate. They consulted concerning the mighty Testament; agreed upon the right decision and were confirmed with a new spirit. Their breasts were dilated through the reading of the mighty Covenant. They wrote the evident book which speaks of firmness and indicates steadfastness. They held fast to the strong and unbreakable support and grasped the hem of the Garment of Grandeur.

O Lord, illumine their faces in the Kingdom of Abha; incline their ears to the voice of commendation from the Supreme Concourse; make them great signs of thee; ordain for them the best of this world and the world to come; elevate their stations to the sublime canopy. Give them a truthful tongue among the people of the world and usher them into the paradise of thy meeting after they ascend to the Supreme Companion.

Verily, thou art the Omnipotent in whatsoever thou desirest and verily thou art the Pure Almighty. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Star of the West, vol. 8, no.17, January 19, 1918)

Believers – Spiritual transformation; Assistance; Teaching: Forgiveness

O my Beloved, God! These are thy servants who have heard thy voice, responded to thy word and accepted thy call. They believed in thee; became assured in thy verses; acknowledged thy proofs; listened to thy evidences; walked in thy path and followed thy guidance; became informed of thy mysteries; comprehended the symbols of thy Book, the signs of thy Scriptures and the glad tidings of thy epistles and tablets; grasped the hem of thy garment and were held by the radiance of thy grandeur; their feet became firm in thy Covenant and their hearts strong in thy Testament.

O my Lord! Ignite the fire of attraction in their hearts; let the birds of knowledge soar in the rose-gardens of their breasts and sing in the meadows of their souls, songs of love with the most wonderful melodies and harmonies; make them strong verses, unfurled ensigns and perfect words; elevate thy Cause by them; raise thy banners, spread thy signs, assist thy Word and support thy friends by them; make them to utter in thy praise and inspire them to arise in thy good-pleasure; illumine their faces in the Kingdom of thy holiness, and complete their joy by confirming them in assisting thy Cause!

O my Lord! We are weak, strengthen us in spreading the fragrances of thy sanctity; we are poor, enrich us from the treasury of thy singleness; we are naked, clothe us from thy generous bounty; we are sinners, pardon our transgressions by thy favor, generosity and forgiveness.

Verily, thou are the Confirmer, the Helper, the Beloved, the Mighty, the Omnipotent!

Baha be upon those who are firm and steadfast!

 ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 8, no. 15, December 12, 1917)

Believers– “to acquire knowledge and the sciences and arts”; “to be ensigns of guidance”; “guides unto Thy [God’s] path”; “runners urging men on to Thy Kingdom”

O God, O Thou Who hast cast Thy splendour over the luminous realities of men, shedding upon them the resplendent lights of knowledge and guidance, and hast chosen them out of all created things for this supernal grace, and hast caused them to encompass all things, to understand their inmost essence, and to disclose their mysteries, bringing them forth out of darkness into the visible world! “He verily showeth His special mercy to whomsoever He will.” [Qur’án 3:67]

O Lord, help Thou Thy loved ones to acquire knowledge and the sciences and arts, and to unravel the secrets that are treasured up in the inmost reality of all created beings. Make them to hear the hidden truths that are written and embedded in the heart of all that is. Make them to be ensigns of guidance amongst all creatures, and piercing rays of the mind shedding forth their light in this, the “first life”. [Qur’án 56:62] Make them to be leaders unto Thee, guides unto Thy path, runners urging men on to Thy Kingdom.

Thou verily art the Powerful, the Protector, the Potent, the Defender, the Mighty, the Most Generous. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

"O Lord! Bless Thou the house wherein Thy call is raised..."

O Lord! Bless Thou the house wherein Thy call is raised, Thy mention and praise are heard, and the light of Thy guidance shineth forth. Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center) 

Group – Forgiveness; Detachment; Enkindlement with love of God; Occupied with reading and meditating on verses of God; Attraction to God; Deepening knowledge and faith

O God! O God! Thou dost behold me, how my forehead is laid upon the dust of humility and submission and how my face is covered in the ground of the threshold of thy singleness. O thou my Lord, the Unconstrained! Thou seest me lowly and contrite, supplicating, entreating and imploring toward the Kingdom of thy light by day and by night, that thou encircle us with the eye of thy providence and the glances of the outlook of thy mercifulness.

O Lord! Forgive our sins, pardon our shortcomings and deal with us through thy grace and generosity under all circumstances. O our Lord! We are sinners, but thou art the merciful forgiver. We are transgressors, but thou art the clement pardoner. Absolve our iniquities, remove our sorrows, destine for us through thy bestowal severance from the world, occupation with thy mentioning, enkindlement with the fire of thy love, perpetual contemplation of thy signs, the knowledge of thy words, meditation over thy verses and the attraction of thy lights.

O Lord! O Lord! These are thy servants; they have turned their faces toward thy countenance and they have resolved their joy and happiness in thy favor and bounty. Strengthen their backs in thy obedience. Reinforce their lives in thy adoration. Perfume their hearts with the fragrances of thy holiness. Ordain for them presence in the paradise of thy meeting. Suffer them to become such servants as peruse the verses of unity in the assemblages held in thy name; that attract the rays of singleness from the lamp of thy bestowal; as those drawn towards thy beauty, humble before thy glory; who have abandoned aught else save thee and are relying upon thy protection and preservation; as those rendered meek by the sway of thy Word, made submissive before thy beloved ones; as those diffusing thy fragrances, disclosing thy mysteries, informing people with thy teachings and suffering mankind to become rejoiced through thy glad-tidings. Verily, thou art powerful over that which thou wiliest and thou feedest whomsoever thou desirest with thy hand. The world and the Kingdom belong to thee and thou art the mighty, the omnipotent and the beloved! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 14, November 23, 1916)

Believers – “prosperous”; “reveal to them the hidden realities and significances”; “a shining face and … a musk-diffusing character”

O thou Eternal One! Make the friends of that country prosperous, acquaint them with the mysteries; usher them into the divine rose-garden and; make their hearts the association of truth and their souls full of divine melodies and sacred (choral) music!

O God! This respectful assemblage are my relatives and kindred and the cause of the happiness of this afflicted one. Bestow upon them a shining face and grant them a musk-diffusing character. Show them the mystery of the Kingdom and suffer them to hear the soul-elevating harmony of heaven! Awaken (the people) by the breeze of the Paradise of Abha and make them alive by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Verily, Thou are the Powerful and Omnipotent, and Thou art the Bestower and generous! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From ‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2)

Group – “Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty”

O Lord, my God! O Thou the Most Lauded, the Most Holy, the Most Tender, the Most Bountiful! Remove our difficulties by Thy grace and bounty. Thou art, verily, the All-Merciful, the All-Bountiful. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Prayer for Washington

O God! Grant Washington happiness and peace! Illuminate that land with the light of the faces of the friends, make it a paradise of Glory, let it become an envy of the green gardens of the earth! Help the friends, increase their number, make their hearts sources of inspiration and their souls dawnings of light. Thus may that city become a beautiful paradise and fragrant with the fragrance of musk. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha', vol. 2)

Individual – Spiritual growth and transformation

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! Sanctify mine eye, and mine ear, and my tongue, and my spirit, and my heart, and my soul, and my body, and mine entire being from turning unto anyone but Thee. Give me then to drink from the cup that brimmeth with the sealed wine of Thy glory. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Additional Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh’; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

A prayer for those who labor in Mashriqu’l-Adhkár

O Lord, my God! Confirm them in Thy service; strengthen their backs in bearing the stones for the erection of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. O Lord, my God! Illumine the faces of these righteous ones with the light that shineth from the dawning-place of Thy mysteries. Verily, Thou art the Mighty and the Unconstrained, and verily Thou art the Merciful and the Compassionate. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  ('Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks'; Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Individual – Assistance; Servitude; Humility & submissiveness; Firmness; Illumination; “Refresh my spirit”; “gladden my soul”; Forgiveness; Steadfastness

He is the Most Holy, the Most Glorious.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! Praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds!

O Lord my God, my Haven and my Refuge! How can I befittingly make mention of Thee, even with the most wondrous words of glorification or the most eloquent odes of praise, O Thou Almighty and Forgiving One, aware as I am that the tongue of every eloquent speaker doth falter, and every expression of praise from either human pen or tongue is confounded in its attempt to glorify but one of the signs of Thine omnipotent power or to extol a single Word that hath been created by Thee. Indeed, the wings of the birds of human minds are broken in their attempt to soar up to the atmosphere of Thy divine holiness, and the spiders of idle fancy are powerless to weave their frail webs upon the loftiest summits of the canopy of Thy knowledge. No recourse is there for me, then, but to acknowledge my powerlessness and shortcomings, and no habitation is there for me but in the depths of poverty and privation. Verily, powerlessness to comprehend Thee is the essence of understanding, confession of shortcomings is the only means of attaining Thy presence, and admission of poverty is the source of true wealth.

Group – Blessings and grace; “Illumine our eyes”; Joy; Spiritual growth; Steadfastness; Forgiveness; Assistance; Teaching; Strength; “confer heavenly power”

O Thou Omnipotent Lord! We are all held within the mighty grasp of Thy power. Thou art our Supporter and our Helper. Grant us Thy tender mercy, bestow upon us Thy bounty, open the portals of grace, and cast upon us the glance of Thy favours. Let a vivifying breeze waft over us, and quicken Thou our yearning hearts. Illumine our eyes and make the sanctuary of our hearts the envy of every blossoming bower. Rejoice every soul and gladden every spirit. Reveal Thine ancient power and make manifest Thy great might. Cause the birds of human souls to soar to new heights, and let Thy confidants in this nether world fathom the mysteries of Thy Kingdom. Set firm our steps and bestow upon us unwavering hearts. We are sinners, and Thou art the Ever-Forgiving. We are Thy servants, and Thou art the Sovereign Lord. We are homeless wanderers, and Thou art our haven and refuge. Graciously aid and assist us to diffuse Thy sweet savours and to exalt Thy Word. Elevate the station of the dispossessed, and bestow Thine inexhaustible treasure upon the destitute. Vouchsafe Thy strength unto the weak, and confer heavenly power upon the feeble. Thou art the Provider, Thou art the Gracious, Thou art the Lord Who ruleth over all things. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Group – Service to the Cause

O Lord! What an outpouring of bounty Thou hast vouchsafed, and what a flood of abounding grace Thou hast granted! Thou didst make all the hearts to become even as a single heart, and all the souls to be bound together as one soul. Thou didst endow inert bodies with life and feeling, and didst bestow upon lifeless frames the consciousness of the spirit. Through the effulgent rays shed from the Day-Star of the All-Merciful, Thou didst invest these atoms of dust with visible existence, and through the billows of the ocean of oneness, Thou didst enable these evanescent drops to surge and roar.

O Almighty One Who endowest a blade of straw with the might of a mountain and enablest a speck of dust to mirror forth the glory of the resplendent sun! Grant us Thy tender grace and favour, so that we may arise to serve Thy Cause and not be shamefaced before the peoples of the earth. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Group – Confirmation; Assistance; Spiritual attraction; Teaching

O Thou Almighty God! Confirm Thou these friends and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Grant Thou to them assistance. Open Thou before their faces the closed doors and make them intimate with the fragrances of holiness, so that they may become the confident friends of each other; raise the melody and the song of joy and sing the harmony of heaven, in order that they may exhilarate and gladden the regions of the West and impart attraction and ecstasy!

Make Thou them the magnets of love so that they may attract the hearts to the Kingdom of Abha!

Verily, Thou art the Powerful and the Mighty; and Thou art the Giver, the Seer and the Hearer! There is no God but Thee, the Generous, the Merciful! 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 2)

Humanity – Assistance; “Dispel this darksome cloud”; Protection; “quicken the lifeless hearts”; “refresh this withered plant”

O Divine Providence! Bestow Thine aid and vouchsafe Thine assistance. Dispel this darksome cloud and disperse this obscuring mist. Waft Thy life-giving breezes and quicken the lifeless hearts. Rain down the showers of Thy mercy and refresh this withered plant. Cause the bowers of human hearts to become the gardens of the all-glorious Paradise and the realities of human souls to become the meadows of the Concourse on high. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Included in a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 14 May 2009 to the Believers in the Cradle of the Faith; online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Departed – for Robert Turner

O Thou Provider, O Thou Forgiver! Exalt dearly loved Robert [1] in Thy Kingdom and, in the garden of the Abhá Paradise, make him an intimate of the birds of the meadow. O All-Knowing God! While that innocent soul was black in colour, he was, like unto the black pupil of the eye, a source of radiant light.

O Thou Forgiving Lord! Enable that yearning soul to behold Thee and cause that thirsty one to drink his fill of the water of life. Thou art the Bestower, the Pardoner, the Loving. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (From a Tablet; ‘Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks’; online Baha’i Reference Library, Baha’i World Centre)

[1] Robert Turner: The first African American Bahá’í and one of the nineteen Disciples of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Departed – “Make these precious souls companions of the inmates of Heaven, and admit them into the circle of Thy chosen ones”

He is God.

O Thou forgiving Lord! These servants were noble souls, and these radiant hearts were made illumined and resplendent through the light of Thy guidance. They drank a brimming cup of the wine of Thy love, and gave ear to eternal mysteries imparted by the melodies of Thy knowledge. They bound their hearts to Thee, broke free from the snare of estrangement, and laid hold of Thy unity. Make these precious souls companions of the inmates of Heaven, and admit them into the circle of Thy chosen ones. Make them intimates of Thy mysteries in the retreats of the realm above, and immerse them in the sea of lights. Thou art the Bestower, the Luminous, and the Kind. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Twenty-six Prayers Revealed by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá; A selection of prayers prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and released in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá's passing: Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Centre)

Individual (woman) – “nourish me with the wine of Thy knowledge and the living waters of Thy love and pleasure”

O God! The trials Thou sendest are a salve to the sores of all them who are devoted to Thy will; the remembrance of Thee is a healing medicine to the hearts of such as have drawn nigh unto Thy court; nearness to Thee is the true life of them who are Thy lovers; Thy presence is the ardent desire of such as yearn to behold Thy face; remoteness from Thee is a torment to those that have acknowledged Thy oneness, and separation from Thee is death unto them that have recognised Thy truth!

I beseech Thee by the sighs which they whose souls pant after Thee have uttered in their remoteness from Thy court, and by the cries of such of Thy lovers as bemoan their separation from Thee, to nourish me with the wine of Thy knowledge and the living waters of Thy love and pleasure. Behold Thy handmaiden, O my Lord, who hath forgotten all else except Thee, and who hath delighted herself with Thy love, and lamented over the things that have befallen Thee at the hands of the wicked doers among Thy creatures. Do Thou ordain for her that which Thou didst ordain for such of Thy handmaidens as circle round the throne of Thy majesty, and gaze, at eventide and at dawn, on Thy beauty.

Thou art, verily, the Lord of the Judgement Day. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah)