This Interfaith Devotional program focuses on the names of God and that when we call on Him, God answers our prayers. These readings have been selected from various religious traditions. Please come and join us on Sundays at 9:30 am at the Beaverton Baha’i Center.
Opening Prayer
O my God! O my God!
Verily I am Thy humble servant and Thy meek slave. I beseech Thee with all my heart and soul, in the middle of nights, and declare: O my Lord! O my Lord! Enlighten the eyes by the outpouring of lights; purify the souls by the fragrances of Paradise; dilate the hearts by the wafting of the breeze whereby the sorrows are dispelled, and exhilarate the spirits by the cups of the wine which is gleaming and sparkling like unto a lamp! Then intoxicate me with the wine of Thy love, so that I may attain to success and prosperity in this dawn of Light; may speak Thy praises, call upon Thy Name, be engaged in Thy commemoration in this vast country and spacious continent and be inebriated with the pure Wine which is glowing in the excellent Cup. Then suffer me to become the sign of guidance among Thy creatures and to become a supreme example among the believers, in order that I may lead others to Thy Word, spread Thy truth, promulgate Thy knowledge and deliver Thy teachings. Verily, Thou art the Confirmer, the Assister, the Mighty, the Powerful and the Beneficent!
Bahá’í Faith, `Abdu’l-Bahá
First Reading
Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Judaism, Jeremiah 33:2-3
O Lord, my God! Praise and thanksgiving be unto Thee for Thou hast guided me to the highway of the kingdom, suffered me to walk in this straight and far-stretching path, illumined my eye by beholding the splendors of Thy light, inclined my ear to the melodies of the birds of holiness from the kingdom of mysteries and attracted my heart with Thy love among the righteous. O Lord! Confirm me with the Holy Spirit, so that I may call in Thy Name amongst the nations, and give the glad tidings of the manifestation of Thy kingdom amongst mankind.
Bahá’í Faith, `Abdu’l-Bahá
Music
Second Reading
Contemplate solely the Name of God. Fruitless are all other rituals.
Sikhism, Adi Granth, Shi, M.1
Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth is a direct evidence of the revelation within it of the attributes and names of God, inasmuch as within every atom are enshrined the signs that bear eloquent testimony to the revelation of that most great Light. Methinks, but for the potency of that revelation, no being could ever exist. How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop! To a supreme degree is this true of man, who, among all created things, hath been invested with the robe of such gifts, and hath been singled out for the glory of such distinction. For in him are potentially revealed all the attributes and names of God to a degree that no other created being hath excelled or surpassed. All these names and attributes are applicable to him. Even as He hath said: “Man is My mystery, and I am his mystery.” Manifold are the verses that have been repeatedly revealed in all the heavenly Books and the holy Scriptures, expressive of this most subtle and lofty theme. Even as He hath revealed: “We will surely show them Our signs in the world and within themselves.” … In this connection, He Who is the eternal King–may the souls of all that dwell within the mystic Tabernacle be a sacrifice unto Him–hath spoken: “He hath known God who hath known himself.”
Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh
I will bring them through fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Judaism, Zechariah 13:8-10
The Thousand Names of the great Lord which are based on His qualities, and which the sages have sung throughout eternity, I shall proclaim for the healing of the world, Thus these Thousand from among the divine Names of the Great Kesava, fit to be sung, have been fully told. He who listens to this or recites it daily shall encounter nothing untoward here or in the hereafter.
Hinduism, Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva 254
Music
Third Reading
Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
Judaism, 1 Chronicles 16:8-15
O ye who are chosen! O ye who are firm! O ye who are calling! O ye who are sincere! Verily I praise my Supreme Lord for choosing you to call in His Name among the people, for attracting you to the beauty of El-Abha and for strengthening you in rendering His Cause victorious. I trust in Him to make your faces shine forth with glorious lights in that clime, glistening as the face of heaven by the light of the early dawn, unto the horizons.
Bahá’í Faith, `Abdu’l-Bahá
Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Judaism, Psalms 80:15-19
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow weary, he does not tire, his understanding is unsearchable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Youths may faint and be weary, and young men may fall, exhausted; but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not grow faint.
Judaism: Isaiah 40.28-31
Music
Open Prayers
Music
Fourth Reading
And Jesus answering saith unto them, have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Christianity, Mark 11:22-25
Closing Prayer
I beg Thy forgiveness, O my God, and implore pardon after the manner Thou wishest Thy servants to direct themselves to Thee. I beg of Thee to wash away our sins as befitteth Thy Lordship, and to forgive me, my parents, and those who in Thy estimation have entered the abode of Thy love in a manner which is worthy of Thy transcendent sovereignty and well beseemeth the glory of Thy celestial power.
O my God! Thou hast inspired my soul to offer its supplication to Thee, and but for Thee, I would not call upon Thee. Lauded and glorified art Thou; I yield Thee praise inasmuch as Thou didst reveal Thyself unto me, and I beg Thee to forgive me, since I have fallen short in my duty to know Thee and have failed to walk in the path of Thy love.
Bahá’í Faith, The Bab
- Readings – Call on His Name
- Cover – Call on His Name
- Local Cover – Call on His Name
- Program – Call on His Name
- Program (rft) – Call on His Name
Photo by Terry Richmond on Unsplash
