Glory
be to Thee, O Lord my God! These are the days whereon Thou hast bidden all men
to observe the fast, that through it they may purify their souls and rid
themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee, and that out of their hearts
may ascend that which will be worthy of the court of Thy majesty and may well
beseem the seat of the revelation of Thy oneness. Grant, O my Lord, that this
fast may become a river of life-giving waters and may yield the virtue
wherewith Thou hast endowed it. Cleanse Thou by its means the hearts of Thy
servants whom the evils of the world have failed to hinder from turning towards
Thine all-glorious Name, and who have remained unmoved by the noise and tumult
of such as have repudiated Thy most resplendent signs which have accompanied
the advent of Thy Manifestation Whom Thou hast invested with Thy sovereignty,
Thy power, Thy majesty and glory. These are the servants who, as soon as Thy
call reached them, hastened in the direction of Thy mercy and were not kept
back from Thee by the changes and chances of this world or by any human
limitations.
(Baha’u’llah, ‘Prayers and meditations of Baha’u’llah’)
