Another correspondent asked: "Why pray? What is the wisdom thereof, for God has established everything and executes all affairs after the best order - therefore, what is the wisdom in beseeching and supplicating and in stating one's wants and seeking help?" (63:1)

'Abdu'l-Baha replied: - Know thou, verily, it is becoming in a weak one to supplicate to the Strong One, and it behooveth a seeker of bounty to beseech the Glorious Bountiful One. When one supplicates to his Lord, turns to Him and seeks bounty from His Ocean, this supplication brings light to his heart, illumination to his sight, life to his soul and exaltation to his being (63:2)

During thy supplications to God and thy reciting, "Thy Name is my healing," consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one's ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants. (From a tablet to an American believer, translated by 'Ali Kuli Khan, October 1908) (63:3)

Baha'u'llah has revealed three daily obligatory prayers. The believer is free to choose any one of these three prayers, but is under the obligation of reciting one of them, and in the manner Baha'u'llah has prescribed (63:4)

Congregational Prayer
The prayers which Baha'u'llah has ordained as a daily obligation for Baha'is are to be said privately. Only in the case of the Prayer for the Dead has Baha'u'llah commanded congregational prayer, and the only requirement is that the believer who reads it aloud, and all others present, should stand. This differs from the Islamic practice of congregational prayer in which the believers stand in rows behind an imam, who leads the prayer, which is prohibited in the Baha'i Faith (63:5)

These ordinances, which are in accordance with Baha'u'llah's abolition of professional clergy, do not mean that He attached no value to meetings for worship. Regarding the value of gathering for prayer, 'Abdu'l-Baha spoke as follows: - (63:6)

Man may say: "I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings of my heart are drawn to God; when I am in the wilderness, when I am in the city, or wherever I may be. Why should I go where others are gathered upon a special day, at a certain hour, to unite my prayers with theirs, when I may not be in a frame of mind for praying?" (63:7)

To think in this way is useless imagination, for where many are gathered together their force is greater. Separate soldiers fighting alone and individually have not the force of a united army. If all the soldiers in this spiritual war gather together, then their united spiritual feelings help each other, and their prayers become acceptable. (From notes taken by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg.) (63:8)

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