I was just going through the short obligatory prayer that Bahai’s say daily, & had a few thoughts.
“I bear witness, O my God…”
1st line made me think of the tradition in Christian belief, to “witness” for God and for Jesus. To witness is to give praise to God publicly, talk about your belief in the open with others. Bear witness to your faith. So we start out by doing this.
“…that Thou hast created me, to know Thee and to worship Thee.”
Our purpose. What we were created for. It explains our relationship to the Creator. We are not the Creator, but the creation, which is a relief because it tells me, we don’t have to know everything, or understand it all. We can accept imperfection. Somehow in our worship of God the Creator, we gain a closer sense of true love, and what Perfection is.
Next line. “I testify, at this moment,”
Testify. Speak — do not be silent. There is a gospel song in the back of my mind about testifyin’. We are living in the present, in this moment. Not in the past, for that is gone, and not in the future but right now. What we do in this moment determines how the future will go.
“… to my powerlessness, and to Thy might,”
The first step in any 12-step program is to recognize one’s own powerlessness. Powerlessness, in some cases, is a good thing. We are again affirming our station, not as the Almighty but as the creation who can continually progress toward perfection. There is always more to learn. Leaning upon the Mighty will guide us to the next step, whatever it is.
“… to my poverty, and to Thy wealth.”
Poverty and wealth in a spiritual sense. Poverty is never the cause of degradation in any religious book. Only poverty of spirit. Somehow we are responsible for that. Baha’u’llah elsewhere says, “Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor,” and in another place, “If poverty overtake thee, be not sad; for in time the Lord of wealth shall visit thee.”
And the prayer ends with, “There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”
There is only one God. This is a statement we really do not believe today. All those prayers being said to God, from those in so many faiths, really do rise to only One. The One. The Only.
“The help in peril,” which in itself is telling us we are not protected from danger. Danger, peril, these things will touch us. What is always promised is that He IS the HELP in these times. He will help us. We are never without help, never left alone, no matter what. That is the promise.
“the Self Subsisting.” There is only one God, and He is always far and above the rest of creation. He is in fact, Self-Subsisting. We are the opposite. We cannot exist on our own, and in fact, die if left alone. We are made as social creatures, and a human baby one of the most vulnerable of infants, over a long period of time. And yet, we are bathed in His love at all times. We may choose to not turn towards it, but that does not mean it is not there. “I loved Thy creation, hence I created thee . . . Wherefore, do thou love Me … that I may name thy name, and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.”
“I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee, and to worship Thee. I testify at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.”
Doctor Grandma 