O God, my God! Lowly, suppliant and fallen upon my face, I beseech Thee with all the ardor of my invocation to pardon whosoever hath hurt me, forgive him that hath conspired against me and offended me, and wash away the misdeeds of them that have wrought injustice upon me. Vouchsafe unto them Thy goodly gifts, give them joy, relieve them from sorrow, grant them peace and prosperity, give them Thy bliss and pour upon them Thy bounty. Thou art the Powerful, the Gracious, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting! (Abdu’l-Bahá, The Will and Testament, p. 19)
‘Abdu’l-Bahá teaches “If someone commits an error and wrong toward you, you must instantly forgive him.” (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 453) For a long time I harbored a LOT of anger and resentment and bitterness to those who abused me as a child and stole my adulthood. I couldn’t “instantly forgive”. I wasn’t ready to let them off the hook. I wanted justice. I wanted revenge! Slowly, I learned about the importance of forgiveness, not for the other person, but for ourselves. I wanted peace in my heart. I wanted to be obedient to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s injunction. For a long time, the most I could do was to ask God to forgive them for me, because I couldn’t (or wouldn’t). I was happy to find this prayer when I needed it.
I love that it asks God to forgive but then goes an important step further – that He give them 6 things:
- His goodly gifts
- Joy
- To be relieved from sorrow
- peace and prosperity
- His bliss
- His bounty
Then He reminds us that He has the power and is gracious enough to use it for me. He’s the one I turn to when my soul and heart are in peril and He’s all I need. I love the endings to these prayers too. They help me draw closer to God as I think that if He’s willing to give His enemies these gifts, please God, may He give them to me too.
Knowing how to pray for those who hurt me, I am grateful!
What jumped out for you as you read through today’s meditation? I’d love it if you would share so we can all expand our knowledge of the Writings!
If you liked this meditation, you might also like my book Learning How to Forgive
When I first read this, I was astounded. The compassion He held for others! He was asking forgiveness for covenant breakers. I could forgive the realitively small slights handed to me. It just doesn’t matter anymore
I agree, Robin! And you might find these stories also inspiring: How Did ‘Abdu’l-Baha Forgive?
What jumped out at me today is that so often, the people who hurt me are the ones I love. Even knowing that the word or deed that hurt me was not intentional, I feel resentment at times. What a wonderful prayer to both heal my own heart and to pray for those that I love at a time when I am feeling alienated.
I agree Terry! That’s how I feel too!
I don’t know why this isn’t in any of the prayer books I’ve seen in the past half century. I SOOO needed this prayer. Only on her deathbed, when I knew she could not longer attack me (she was essentially paralyzed) could I step outside the pain my mother inflicted on me to see HER pain – and I was simply born into it. She had also shown more affection that last week then the previous sixty-plus years. I shall keep this prayer where I can see and use it often. I’ve read the Will and Testament, but never noticed it.
I love this prayer. I too had issues like early childhood sexual abuse, abandonment by my mother when I was 13. My mom died about 5 years ago with Alzheimer’s. I harbored such hatred towards her. Two years ago when I was 61, I was finally able to forgive her. I thank God that I was able to forgive her. I pray for her every night and I even pray for the perpetrator who sexually abused me at such a young age. I will save this beautiful prayer. Thank you so much for sharing this prayer.
What a great story of redemption Dianne! Thanks for sharing! Like you it took me a very long time to get to forgiveness. It was definitely a process, but in the end, so very worthwhile to my own peace of mind. I’m glad you’ve been saying prayers for them. I love to remember that the Bab promised us:
I’m so sorry to hear it took so many years to feel your mother’s love, Duane and so happy that you found it before she passed away! How blessed you are!
I’ve found many prayers that touch me deeply and aren’t in the traditional prayer books. I’ve collected them here.