The Bahá'í Faith is the greatest gift ever given to the human race, for it is the most recent chapter in a lineage of each of the former revealed religions. Through each of those religions, in its time, humans were given the capacity to experience the most-up-to-date portion of God's love for His creatures. Each of those religions had its own uniqueness, its own personality and pattern to follow.
At the top of the list of the bounties of the Bahá'í Faith is the opportunity for humans to accept God's promise that never again will humans face a spiritual nighttime of darkness, as had been the case during the previous cycles. Among the bounties contained within the
flow of the Spirit through the beginning stages of the Faith that we have witnessed thus far is the life of `Abdu'l-Bahá. His life is a beacon for us all, and will remain so throughout this Glorious Baha'i Cycle. His greatest gift to us may be considered to be His efforts in
providing an avenue for the believers to cling to His legacy through the Institutions named in His Will and Testament, among which is the Institution of the Guardianship.
The first Guardian emphasized how we must conduct our daily activities to align them within an administrative order that would promote an avenue of spiritual bounty for all. Although he admonished us to never celebrate his birthday nor supplicate God in prayer through his persona, as that would elevate him beyond his intended station, he did
request of the believers the power of their supplications to God on his behalf. He provided the Prayer for the Guardian for them to recite in the privacy of their chambers. This prayer was no doubt recited by the believers hundreds of times a day, and provided special bounties for themselves and for the Faith itself.
Fortunately that bounty remains a gift for the followers of the third Guardian. What could be a grander bounty for humans than the opportunity for them to be a small part of the power-force connected to the Universe of God? The Prayer for the Guardian remains alive today, and will remain so for the entire 1,000 year Bahá'í Cycle, through its daily use by the believers for each of the successive guardians to come.
Here is that Prayer defined by the first Guardian, in its present iteration:
"Oh my Lord, my beloved! I cherish the hope that from now on, Thou mayest bestow upon the Guardian of the Cause, Joel B. Marangella, all the strength and vigor that will enable him to pursue over a long and unbroken period of strenuous labor the supreme task of achieving, in collaboration with the faithful supporters of the Covenant in every
land, the speedy triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh and his Might Covenant.
Thou verily art the God of Power, the Help in peril, the All- Glorious, the Almighty."
By Hand of the Cause David Maxwell
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