O God, my God! These are servants attracted in Thy days by
the fragrances of Thy holiness, enkindled with the flame burning in Thy holy
tree, responding to Thy voice, uttering Thy praise, awakened by Thy breeze,
stirred by Thy sweet savors, beholding Thy signs, understanding Thy Revelation
and assured of Thy loving-kindness. Their eyes, O Lord, are fixed upon Thy
kingdom of effulgent glory and their faces turned toward Thy dominion on high,
their hearts beating with the love of Thy radiant and glorious beauty, their
souls consumed with the flame of Thy love, O Lord of this world and the world
hereafter, their lives seething with the ardor of their longing for Thee, and
their tears poured forth for Thy sake.
Shield them within the stronghold of Thy protection and
safety, preserve them in Thy watchful care, look upon them with the eyes of Thy
providence and mercy, make them the signs of Thy divine unity that are manifest
throughout all regions, the standards of Thy might that wave above Thy mansions
of grandeur, the shining lamps that burn with the oil of Thy wisdom in the
globes of Thy guidance, the birds of the garden of Thy knowledge that warble
upon the topmost boughs in Thy sheltering paradise, and the leviathans of the
ocean of Thy bounty that plunge by Thy supreme mercy in the fathomless deeps.
O Lord, my God! Lowly are these servants of Thine, exalt
them in Thy kingdom on high; feeble, strengthen them by Thy supreme power;
abased, bestow upon them Thy glory in Thine all-highest realm; poor, enrich
them in Thy great dominion. Do Thou then ordain for them all the good Thou hast
destined in Thy worlds, visible and invisible, prosper them in this world
below, gladden their hearts with Thine inspiration, O Lord of all beings!
Illumine their hearts with Thy joyful tidings diffused from Thine all-glorious
Station, make firm their steps in Thy Most-Great Covenant and strengthen their
loins in Thy firm Testament, by Thy bounty and promised grace, O Gracious and
Merciful One! Thou art, verily, the Gracious, the All-Bountiful.
-‘Abdu’l-Baha (compilation: ‘Baha’i Prayers’, 2002 edition)
