Therefore, O Thou Benevolent God, forgive my sings, grant Thy Bestowals, overlook my faults, provide for me a shelter, immerse me in the Fountain of Thy Patience and heal me of all sickness and disease. Purify and sanctify me. Give me a portion from the outpouring of holiness, so that sorrow and sadness may vanish, joy and happiness descend, despondency and hopelessness be changed into cheerfulness and trustfulness, and courage take the place of fear. Verily Thou art the Forgiver, the Compassionate, and Thou art the Generous, the Beloved! —‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ. O compassionate God! Thanks be to Thee for Thou hast awakened and made me conscious. Thou hast given me a seeing eye and favored me with a hearing ear; hast led me to Thy Kingdom and guided me to Thy Path. Thou hast shown me the right way and caused me to enter the Ark of Deliverance. O God! Keep me steadfast and make me firm and staunch. Protect me from violent tests and preserve and shelter me in the strongly fortified fortress of Thy Covenant and Testament. Thou art the Powerful! Thou art the Seeing! Thou art the Hearing! O Thou the Compassionate God! Bestow upon me a heart which, like unto glass, may be illumined with the light of Thy love, and confer upon me a thought which may change this world into a rose-garden through the spiritual bounty. Thou art the Compassionate, the Merciful! Thou art the Great Beneficent God! —‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ. Bahá’í prayer is not, however, confined to the use of prescribed forms, important as those are. Bahá’u’lláh teaches that one’s whole life should be a prayer, that work done in the right spirit is worship, that every thought, word and deed devoted to the Glory of God and the good of one’s fellows is prayer, in the truest sense of the world.(24) CHAPTER 7: HEALTH AND HEALING Turning the face towards God brings healing to the body, the mind and the soul.—‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ. Body and Soul According to the Bahá’í teaching the human body serves a temporary purpose in the development of the soul, and, when that purpose has been served, is laid aside; just as the eggshell serves a temporary purpose in the development of the chick, and, when that purpose has been served, is broken and discarded. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that the physical body is incapable of immortality, for it is a composite thing, built up of atoms and molecules, and, like all things that are composed, must, in time, become decomposed. The body should be the servant of the soul, never its master, but it should be a willing, obedient and efficient servant, and should be treated with the consideration which a good servant deserves. If it is not properly treated, disease and disaster result, with injurious consequences to master as well as servant. Oneness of All Life