What is Prayer?

The message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís in Iran, dated 18 December 2014, contained a beautiful paragraph on what prayer is. Based on the paragraph, I split each sentence into a separate slide, used some beautiful photographs taken by Chad and made a small slideshow. This can be used as an inspiration for devotional meetings, Ruhi book 1, or just as a personal reflection.

Here is the extract:

The Twin Luminaries of this resplendent age have taught us this: Prayer is the essential spiritual conversation of the soul with its Maker, direct and without intermediation. It is the spiritual food that sustains the life of the spirit. Like the morning’s dew, it brings freshness to the heart and cleanses it, purifying it from attachments of the insistent self. It is a fire that burns away the veils and a light that leads to the ocean of reunion with the Almighty. On its wings does the soul soar in the heavens of God and draw closer to the divine reality. Upon its quality depends the development of the limitless capacities of the soul and the attraction of the bounties of God, but the prolongation of prayer is not desirable. The powers latent in prayer are manifested when it is motivated by the love of God, beyond any fear or favour, and free from ostentation and superstition. It is to be expressed with a sincere and pure heart conducive to contemplation and meditation so that the rational faculty can be illumined by its effects. Such prayer will transcend the limitation of words and go well beyond mere sounds. The sweetness of its melodies must gladden and uplift the heart and reinforce the penetrating power of the Word, transmuting earthly inclinations into heavenly attributes and inspiring selfless service to humankind.

You can download the What is prayer PDF.

Ruhi Book 8, Unit 1, Section 26, memorization exercise

Another exercise to help memorize/recall the following quote:

O my loving friends! After the passing away of this wronged one, it is incumbent upon the Aghsán (Branches), the Afnán (Twigs) of the Sacred Lote-Tree, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause of God and the loved ones of the Abhá Beauty to turn unto Shoghi Effendi—the youthful branch branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees and the fruit grown from the union of the two offshoots of the Tree of Holiness,—as he is the sign of God, the chosen branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, he unto whom all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God and His loved ones must turn. He is the expounder of the words of God and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.

The following PDF file contains a page with two copies of the quote. I cut the quote up into small pieces, split the participants in small groups, and had them try to reorder it again. It took some 10-15 minutes, and was a fun exercise. Great success!

Ruhi Book 8, Unit 1, Section 14 memorization help

Here is a simple memorization aid tool for section 14 of Book 8, Unit 1. It has the following quotations which we are encouraged to memorize:

Verily I say unto thee the truth, that I am with you in spirit and in heart, that I rejoice by your joy and am happy by your happiness; and hear with the ear of spirit your calling and scent with the spiritual nostrils the fragrances of your garden.


Verily, I implore God to gaze upon you with the eye of His mercy, to raise you through a godlike power, to move you by the breezes of His glory, to make you fluent in irrefutable and divine proofs and arguments, to sever you from the world and all therein, to purify and sanctify you from every material grade, and enable you to diffuse the bounties of the Divine Worlds.


At all times do I speak of you and call you to mind. I pray unto the Lord, and with tears I implore Him to rain down all these blessings upon you, and gladden your hearts, and make blissful your souls, and grant you exceeding joy and heavenly delights.


Ye live, all of you, within the heart of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and with every breath do I turn my face toward the Threshold of Oneness and call down blessings upon you, each and all.


O ye who have turned your faces toward the Exalted Beauty! By night, by day, at morningtide and sunset, when darkness draweth on, and at early light I remember, and ever have remembered, in the realms of my mind and heart, the loved ones of the Lord.

The simple Powerpoint contains each quotation in a series of four slides, where a couple of words get removed each time. Going forward then comes progressively more difficult, and aids in memorization of the quote. Enjoy!

Ruhi Book 8, Unit 1, crossword sections 1-7

I recently started tutoring Ruhi book 8, Unit 1, on the The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. To aid our understanding and recollection, I created a crossword puzzle that summarized sections 1-7. It worked pretty well, and our participants enjoyed trying to solve it on their own before we did it in the group together. I figured I should make it available to anyone else that wants to use it, so go ahead and download the crossword here!