What we have in common with the Concourse

It's time for a little perspective. context. appreciation. recognition of blessings.

"I am, O my God, but a tiny seed which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love."

I have the honor and opportunity, by reciting the Baha'i Long Obligatory Prayer, to acknowledge and testify to that whereunto have testified the Concourse on high, the inmates of the all-highest Paradise, God's chosen ones, and those who have circled round God's mighty Throne! (Think about that!!)

"The kingdoms of earth and heaven are Thine, O Lord of the worlds!"

Those who are used to saying the Long Obligatory Prayer may have become so accustomed to reciting these lines day in and day out that they may not be presently aware of the magnitude of the bounty of being able to say these lines.Now I'm the first to admit that this statement may have yet to sink in with me. But it's the context in which we say it that can blow my mind. When we actually testify and acknowledge that reality (and this is obviously WAY beyond saying the words...it's knowing that the words are true and testifying, as a witness, to their truth...so this necessitates understanding of this reality to a certain degree, not just reciting Words) we are testifying to something that the beings who circle around God, and the holiest of holy souls also testify to. What is that!?! By commanding that we say this prayer, Baha'u'llah has given us the opportunity to have something very dear in common with those souls who we aspire to be like. He has connected us to them with this command. He's enabled us to get one step closer to where we want to be. And, in my understanding, that's one GIANT step.
So, in other words, holy moly, thank you Baha'u'llah.
Goodness.

Comments

[carmel]

Whoa. I never thought about it that way!!! thank you for that amazing perspective. Dang i love the Long Obligatory Prayer and i don't say it enough....

[anna]

wow... i totally agree! - yay for perspective! :) thanks Jessica!!

[Mike G]

Thanks for sharing your personal insight. That prayer continues to amaze me.

[Suzanne]

Jessica, how is it that we are always thinking about the same things? We are the same person! No, seriously though, this exact passage from the Long Obligatory prayer has had me enthralled for the past month for many of the same reasons. Yay for confirmations! We have so many blessings!!!

[kari]

i LOVE that you blogged about prayer.

i remember hearing a story from a dear Baha'i on the west coast. she was a middle-aged mother of two, a wife, etc. she was reminiscing about a time when she was a new mom, her husband was in grad school and she was a new Baha'i. she had NO ONE to share her Faith with and very little time to care for her soul. saying the short obligatory prayer was all she could manage to do in the midst of taking care of 2 little ones. she said that even though she couldn't go to Feast often, she couldn't go to deepenings, etc., etc., she felt so blessed to be reminded every day that her purpose was "to know and to love God." every day for 3 minutes she was reminded why she existed.

AMAZING! thank you, Jessica. i wish more people blogged about prayer

[Vijay]

Aptly put. Last two weeks my computer has been acting up, and hope I can save all the information(pictures, music, files, data, etc) from the old HardDisk. I really had no control over anything.

That is when I had found another meaning behind the short obligatory prayer. "I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might"