Prayer as an Act of Remembrance
elliott March 30th, 2009
I pray Thee, O my Lord, by Thy hidden, Thy treasured Name, that calleth aloud in the kingdom of creation, and summoneth all peoples to the Tree beyond which there is no passing, the seat of transcendent glory, to rain down upon us, and upon Thy servants, the overflowing rain of Thy mercy, that it may cleanse us from the remembrance of all else but Thee, and draw us nigh unto the shores of the ocean of Thy grace…
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 300)
We know that prayer is a form of spiritual nourishment, that it connects us with our Creator, and that it is part of our covenant with God. I would like to discuss another light in which the practice may be viewed – that prayer is an act of remembrance.
It may seem inherently clear that when we pray we are remembering our Maker, but I find that this is true on very profound levels, and that this view might help us understand the various practices associated with prayer. There are many prayers which have been revealed by the Central Figures in the Baha’i Faith. Three of these have been designated as “Obligatory” prayers, and each day Baha’is chose one of these prayers to recite. I will focus on this practice in particular.
“O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Maker of the heavens!” “Thou, in truth, art the Mighty, the All-Knowing.” We are reminded of who we are conversing with. Our human tendency is sometimes to forget.
Daily, we are called to remember that we were created to know and worship God, and we humbly remember our powerlessness before His Might, and our poverty before His Wealth. That we are called upon to wash our hands and face and turn towards the Most Sacred Spot when we do this allows us to understand the importance of our commitment to keep these things in mind. In the case of the Long Obligatory Prayer, the prayer is accompanied with bodily postures and gestures. I remember the first time I said this prayer. I was ever so self-conscious when kneeling or raising my arms in front of little else than a wall, alone in my room.
But when we practice these gestures we ask ourselves whether or not we feel the same love inside that we are expressing outwardly to God and His Manifestation. I feel this is a very important reflection to have. We are reminded of our position in this world with respect to our Creator.
Furthermore, the body itself also has an ability to remember. When we type on a keyboard we don’t think expressly about where each key is, because our fingers seem to “know” what they’re doing. When it comes to prayer – what better way to actively remember our connection with Him than to involve our entire bodies?
These are but a few thoughts on prayer as an act of remembrance. There is so much that can be said about prayer. I would encourage anyone interested to read a more in-depth article on the subject of prayer as remembrance by Christopher White, which I personally found to be quite illuminating!
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- Baha'i Concepts
- Comments(5)
Beautiful and insightful! It reminded me what I learned in a Wilmette Institute class on Islam — that man is forgetful, thus the need for Muslims (those submitting to God’s Will) to pray 5 times a day. I see the frequency of the obligatory prayers as very symbolic and like all Laws, a tool of a guidance. In an ideal world, even without those obligatory reminders we would be mindful of God’s presence, remembering Him, never forgetting Him, every second of our lives.
On a terrible day, I’ll forget my obligatory.
On a bad day, I’ll do my obligatory.
On a nromal day, I’ll do my obligatory, allah-u-abhas, divine plan teaching prayer, in some mix for morn/eve.
On a good day, I’ll pray 5 times a day.
On a terrific day, I’ll have a full day of constant mindfulness…
I’ve never had a terrific day… maybe a half-terrific day.
Oh yeah… I hate being forgetful.
Man is both body and soul. When the body is in accordance to the disposition of the soul, then you- and the One you’re praying to – get the most of the act. When we talk to someone, we turn our face to them, we look at them, and do other little physical gestures that express our attention and intention. Why not the same when we pray? Even more, if we don’t “feel” like praying, if our body is in a prayer position, it helps the spirit along.
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OliviaB.
I love the quote that talks about the link between prayer and transformation:
“What every believer, new or old, should realize is that the Cause has the spiritual power to re-create us if we make the effort to let that power influence us, and the greatest help in this respect is prayer.” (Shoghi Effendi, Abuse and Violence: Reasons and Remedies, p. 140)
Sometimes I work really hard to transform some aspect of my charactor, forgetting that the easiest way to do it is to pray.