While on the topic of servitude, there is a prayer that I wanted to share which touched my heart. It is a prayer for assisting us to teach the Cause of God. In this prayer revealed by the Beloved Master, we ask God to have no desire in our heart save to attain His good pleasure because as human beings we may have other desires born out of selfish reasons. We have to continually strive to improve each day by reflecting on our actions, by making the necessary adjustments, by praying and medidating... We ask God to consecrate ourselves to His service. Consecrate is an adjective which means to be "dedicated to a sacred purpose" according to the Merriam-Webster. The synonyms according to this same dictionary are "blessed," "holy," "sacred." It is interesting to note that the Master chose this word. The imagery raises one's consciousness and reflection of what it really means to consecrate one's being to service. When I think of consecrate, I think of total dedication and focus towards service. This involves sacrifice of time, energy, material means, being away perhaps from loved ones... The Master goes on to use the word "labor" as well as "sacrifice". It takes hard work as anyone who has experienced the birth of his/her child knows what labor entails. He goes on to say that we need to loudly proclaim the Cause of God and "to raise Thy call". Teaching the Cause of God is a commandment Bahá'u'lláh has enjoined upon us! What a bounty we have been given! Then we ask God to show us the way, to endure any ordeal in His path (remember that we are laboring), and even desire to meet any hardship. Why would we want to have hardships? Because with test we grow. And so right after this, the Master writes: "Protect me from tests." These are just my humble thoughts and this prayer is loaded with many layers of spiritual meanings like an ocean that has many pearls to be discovered.
Here is the prayer:
Thou knowest, O God, and art my witness that I have no desire in my heart save to attain Thy good pleasure, to be confirmed in servitude unto Thee, to consecrate myself in Thy service, to labor in Thy great vineyard and to sacrifice all in Thy path. Thou art the All-Knowing and the All-Seeing. I have no wish save to turn my steps, in my love for Thee, towards the mountains and the deserts to loudly proclaim the advent of Thy Kingdom, and to raise Thy call amidst all men. O God! Open Thou the way for this helpless one, grant Thou the remedy to this ailing one and bestow Thy healing upon this afflicted one. With burning heart and tearful eyes I supplicate Thee at Thy Threshold.
O God! I am prepared to endure any ordeal in Thy path and desire with all my heart and soul to meet any hardship.
O God! Protect me from tests. Thou knowest full well that I have turned away from all things and freed myself of all thoughts. I have no occupation save mention of Thee and no aspiration save serving Thee.
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