On October 7, 2022, a 22-year-old Black woman in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, “escaped from a white man who she says held her captive in his basement for nearly a month, whipping, torturing, and raping her repeatedly,” as reported in Democracy Now!’s global news report.

She and the other Black women who she said were sexually abused or killed by him represent the tens of thousands of Black women and girls who go missing every year in the United States. 

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In East Africa, every 36 seconds, one person is likely to die of hunger between now and the end of the year, according to a recent report by Oxfam International. They represent the 829 million people who are undernourished around the world, as of 2015.

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About 1.6 billion people in the world may lack adequate housing. And, with the danger of Russia deploying nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, President Joe Biden warned that “the world is at risk of a nuclear ‘Armageddon,’” as reported by AP News.

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Humanity is suffering across the planet. In a letter written by the Universal House of Justice, the global governing body of the Baha’i Faith, in November 2020, they wrote:

There is a mounting realization on the part of the world’s people that the decades ahead are set to bring with them challenges among the most daunting that the human family has ever had to face.

We need healing, justice, equity, aid, love, unity, and peace. May these Baha’i prayers for humanity inspire your pursuits to better this world and fuel your efforts to work toward a brighter future.

1. A Baha’i Prayer for Uniting Humanity

Can you imagine how much justice we would have if humanity was so united that our hearts were connected by God’s indissoluble bond? Then we all would feel pain whenever we witness segments of our human family that are hurt and suffering. Our hearts would beat as one.

This prayer that Abdu’l-Baha, one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith, revealed asks God to unify humanity, giving “light to our eyes, hearing to our ears, and understanding and love to our hearts”:

O Thou compassionate Lord, Thou Who art generous and able! We are servants of Thine sheltered beneath Thy providence. Cast Thy glance of favor upon us. Give light to our eyes, hearing to our ears, and understanding and love to our hearts. Render our souls joyous and happy through Thy glad tidings. 

O Lord! Point out to us the pathway of Thy kingdom and resuscitate all of us through the breaths of the Holy Spirit. Bestow upon us life everlasting and confer upon us never-ending honor. Unify mankind and illumine the world of humanity. May we all follow Thy pathway, long for Thy good pleasure and seek the mysteries of Thy kingdom. 

O God! Unite us and connect our hearts with Thy indissoluble bond.  Verily, Thou art the Giver, Thou art the Kind One and Thou art the Almighty.

2. A Baha’i Prayer for Mercy for Humanity

In this prayer that Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, revealed, we entreat God to bestow His mercy and grace on humanity:

My God, Whom I worship and adore!  I bear witness unto Thy unity and Thy oneness, and acknowledge Thy gifts, both in the past and in the present. Thou art the All-Bountiful, the overflowing showers of Whose mercy have rained down upon high and low alike, and the splendors of Whose grace have been shed over both the obedient and the rebellious. 

O God of mercy, before Whose door the quintessence of mercy hath bowed down, and round the sanctuary of Whose Cause loving-kindness, in its inmost spirit, hath circled, we beseech Thee, entreating Thine ancient grace, and seeking Thy present favor, that Thou mayest have mercy upon all who are the manifestations of the world of being, and deny them not the outpourings of Thy grace in Thy days.

All are but poor and needy, and Thou, verily, art the All-Possessing, the All-Subduing, the All-Powerful.

3. A Baha’i Prayer for the Advancement of Humanity

In this prayer that Abdu’l-Baha revealed, we ask God to help humanity progress and acquire knowledge that is pertinent to our physical and spiritual reality:

O God, O Thou Who hast cast Thy splendor over the luminous realities of men, shedding upon them the resplendent lights of knowledge and guidance, and hast chosen them out of all created things for this supernal grace, and hast caused them to encompass all things, to understand their inmost essence, and to disclose their mysteries, bringing them forth out of darkness into the visible world! ‘He verily showeth His special mercy to whomsoever He will.’

O Lord, help Thou Thy loved ones to acquire knowledge and the sciences and arts, and to unravel the secrets that are treasured up in the inmost reality of all created beings. Make them to hear the hidden truths that are written and embedded in the heart of all that is. Make them to be ensigns of guidance amongst all creatures, and piercing rays of the mind shedding forth their light in this, the ‘first life.’ Make them to be leaders unto Thee, guides unto Thy path, runners urging men on to Thy Kingdom.

Thou verily art the Powerful, the Protector, the Potent, the Defender, the Mighty, the Most Generous.

As Abdu’l-Baha said:

To be a Baha’i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.

Let’s all pray for humanity and do our best to serve it to the best of our abilities.

Prayer is the sweetest state in the world. Through prayer, we converse and commune with the Architect of the Universe — our Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves. 

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Reciting and meditating on the verses of God can refresh, inspire, and heal your body, mind, and soul. Whether you’re experiencing sorrow, crises, or calamities, these powerful Baha’i prayers for help from God can uplift, guide, and assist you when you are in need.

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1. A Short Prayer to Ask God for Help During Difficulty

This short, but powerful, prayer is likely one of the most known and recited prayers by Baha’is around the world. The Bab, the forerunner and herald of Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, revealed this prayer for us to ask God for help in times of difficulty:

Is there any Remover of difficulties save God?  Say: Praised be God!  He is God!  All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!

2. A Short Prayer Asking for Help and Guidance

Regardless of what problems we are facing, this short, powerful prayer asks God for help, guidance, and inspiration. Baha’u’llah wrote:

In regard to his affairs, let him repeat nineteen times:

‘Thou seest me, O my God, detached from all save Thee and cleaving unto Thee. Guide me, then, in all mine affairs unto that which profiteth me for the glory of Thy Cause and the loftiness of the station of Thy loved ones.’

Let him then reflect upon the matter and undertake whatever cometh to mind. This vehement opposition of the enemies will indeed give way to supreme prosperity.

3. A Prayer for Aid and Assistance

This has always been one of my favorite Baha’i prayers for aid and assistance. Baha’u’llah beautifully illustrated our journey to be closer to God through these holy words:

O Thou Whose face is the object of my adoration, Whose beauty is my sanctuary, Whose habitation is my goal, Whose praise is my hope, Whose providence is my companion, Whose love is the cause of my being, Whose mention is my solace, Whose nearness is my desire, Whose presence is my dearest wish and highest aspiration, I entreat Thee not to withhold from me the things Thou didst ordain for the chosen ones among Thy servants. Supply me, then, with the good of this world and of the next.

Thou, truly, art the King of all men. There is no God but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

4. A Prayer Asking God to Help Just Governments

Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baha’u’llah and the authorized interpreter of the Baha’i writings, revealed this prayer, asking God to help every just government that protects the poor and weak:

O my God! O Thou Who endowest every just power and equitable dominion with abiding glory and everlasting might, with permanence and stability, with constancy and honour! Aid Thou by Thy heavenly grace every government that acteth justly towards its subjects and every sovereign authority, derived from Thee, that shieldeth the poor and the weak under the banner of its protection.

I beseech Thee, by Thy divine grace and surpassing bounty, to aid this just government, the canopy of whose authority is spread over vast and mighty lands and the evidences of whose justice are apparent in its prosperous and flourishing regions. Assist, O my God, its hosts, raise aloft its ensigns, bestow influence upon its word and its utterance, protect its lands, increase its honour, spread its fame, reveal its signs, and unfurl its banner through Thine all-subduing power and Thy resplendent might in the kingdom of creation.

Thou, verily, aidest whomsoever Thou willest, and Thou, verily, art the Almighty, the Most Powerful.

5. A Prayer for Help in Fulfilling Our Hopes

In this prayer that Abdu’l-Baha revealed, we ask for divine grace and blessings, imploring God to help us achieve what we have hoped for:

O God! Grant Thy favour, and bestow Thy blessing. Vouchsafe Thy grace, and give a portion of Thy bounty. Enable these men to witness during this year the fulfilment of their hopes. Send down Thy heavenly rain, and provide Thy plenteousness and abundance. Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty.

6. A Prayer for Help With Serving Humanity

Baha’u’llah revealed this prayer to assist us in becoming steadfast in our faith and service to humanity:

O my God! O my God! I testify that this is Thy Day which hath been mentioned in Thy Books, Thy Epistles, Thy Psalms and Thy Tablets. In it Thou hast manifested that which was hidden in Thy Knowledge and stored up in the repositories of Thine unfailing protection. I beseech Thee, O Lord of the world, by Thy Most Great Name whereby the limbs of the people were shaken, to assist Thy servants and Thy handmaidens to become steadfast in Thy Cause and to arise in Thy service.

Verily, Thou art potent to do whatsoever Thou willest, and in Thy grasp are the reins of all things. Thou protectest whomsoever Thou willest through Thy Power and Dominion. And verily, Thou art the Almighty, the All-Subduing, the Most Powerful.

7. A Prayer for Assistance in Becoming Strengthened and United

This prayer by Abdu’l-Baha implores God to strengthen, unite, and “lead us to the well-spring of Life”:

O Thou divine Providence, pitiful are we, grant us Thy succour; homeless wanderers, give us Thy shelter; scattered, do Thou unite us; astray, gather us to Thy fold; bereft, do Thou bestow upon us a share and portion; athirst, lead us to the well-spring of Life; frail, strengthen us that we may arise to help Thy Cause and offer ourselves as a living sacrifice in the pathway of guidance.

As Abdu’l-Baha wrote:

O thou who art turning thy face towards God! Close thine eyes to all things else, and open them to the realm of the All-Glorious. Ask whatsoever thou wishest of Him alone; seek whatsoever thou seekest from Him alone.

With a look He granteth a hundred thousand hopes, with a glance He healeth a hundred thousand incurable ills, with a nod He layeth balm on every wound, with a glimpse He freeth the hearts from the shackles of grief. He doeth as He doeth, and what recourse have we? He carrieth out His Will, He ordaineth what He pleaseth. Then better for thee to bow down thy head in submission, and put thy trust in the All-Merciful Lord.