he daily
prayer is a personal obligation, so someone else reading it is not quite
the same thing as saying it for yourself.

"If you find you need to visualize someone when you pray, think of the
Master. Through Him you can address Baha'u'llah. Gradually try to think of
the qualities of the Manifestation, and in that way a mental form will
fade out, for after all the body is not the thing, His Spirit is there and
is the essential, everlasting element."

160: PRAYERS (DAILY OBLIGATORY)

"The daily obligatory prayers are three in number. The shortest one
consists of a single verse which has to be recited once in every
twenty-four hours and at midday. The medium (prayer) which begins with the
words: 'The Lord is witness that there is none other God but He,' has to
be recited three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening.
The long prayer which is the most elaborate of the three has to be recited
once in every twenty-four hours, and at any time one feels inclined to do
so.

"The believer is entirely free to choose any one of those three prayers
but is under the obligation of reciting one of them, and in accordance
with any specific directions with which they may be accompanied.

"These daily obligatory prayers, together with a few other specific ones,
such as the Healing Prayer, the Tablet of Ahmad, have been invested by
Baha'u'llah with a special potency and significance, and should therefore
be accepted as such and be recited by the believers with unquestioned
faith and confidence, that through them they may enter into a much closer
communion with God, and identify themselves more fully with His Laws and
precepts."

161: PRAYERS (HEALING)

"The healing prayers revealed by Baha'u'llah can be effective even though
used by non-believers. But their effectiveness is of course greater in the
case of those who fully accept the Revelation."

162: PRAYERS (TO BE READ AS REVEALED)

"Regarding your question as to the changing of pronouns in Baha'i prayers:
The Guardian does not approve of such changes, either in the specific
prayers or in any others. They should be read as printed without changing
a single word."

163: PREJUDICES (RACIAL)

"Regarding the solution of the racial problem; the believers should of
course realize that the principle of the oneness of mankind which is the
cornerstone of the message of Baha'u'llah is wholly incompatible with all
forms of ra