r is excused therefrom unless he be mentally unsound or an
insurmountable obstacle prevent him."

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?"

'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.

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 _Kh_an, October 1908).

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.

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.

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:--

Man may say: "I can pray to God whenever I wish, when the feelings
of my heart are drawn to God; when