Contentment with His holy will and pleasure

As I got distracted again by a stray thought today wasting precious time investigating it online, I came to reflect on what had caused me to get sidetracked on this fruitless venture like this. The answer that came to me was a need for contentment, contentment with the urgent and pressing life-tasks already entrusted to my hands, so that I could focus fully and confidently on them. With contentment, the covetous desire and craving for more of the extraneous things of this world would disappear. I found the following quotations to guide me in my strivings to acquire this cardinal virtue (and related ones): The source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment with His holy will and pleasure.

The source of all glory is acceptance of whatsoever the Lord hath bestowed, and contentment with that which God hath ordained.

- Bahá’u’lláh, Words of Wisdom

Regarding the purpose of this virtue in my context, viz. fostering the ability to focus on the important tasks at hand, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has written:

O daughter of the Kingdom! Thy letter hath come and its contents make clear the fact that thou hast directed all thy thoughts toward acquiring light from the realms of mystery. So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he will achieve no results, but if his thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits thereof.


As a tool for acquiring this virtue I shall employ prayer. In the Bahá'í Teachings, prayer has been given a central and vital role in the life of the believer. It helps one to stay focused on the Will of God rather than one's own.
"Strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn
towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble," says 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Paris Talks).

The following is from the textbook of a Bahá'í study circle, Ruhi Book #1, which I have found very useful as it teaches about prayer:

When we pray, we should centre our thoughts on God. We should forget the things of the world, what is going on around us, and even our own selves.

“O Son of Light! Forget all save Me and commune with My Spirit. This is the essence of My command, therefore turn unto it.” 12

To forget all save God is not easy. Effort is needed. It requires great yearning. When our hearts are pure and free of our own imaginations and desires, our prayers have their greatest effect.

"Depend thou upon God. Forsake thine own will and cling to His, set aside thine own desires and lay hold of His…” 13

Imagine a glass of pure, sweet milk. We can derive various products from this milk, such as butter, cheese, and cream. But if we add a drop of poison, that milk is contaminated and its usefulness is lost. It is no longer pure. We cannot use it for anything. The poison that man puts into his life is his ego. We should free ourselves of ego if we want our prayers to have great effect.

Another very important requirement for reaching the true state of prayer is faith. We should trust completely the mercy of God and be certain that He will grant what is best for us.

“Spirit has influence; prayer has spiritual effect. Therefore, we pray ‘O God! Heal this sick one!’ Perchance God will answer. Does it matter who prays? God will answer the prayer of every servant if that prayer is urgent. His mercy is vast, illimitable. He answers the prayers of all His servants. He answers the prayer of this plant. The plant prays potentially, ‘O God! Send me rain!’ God answers the prayer, and the plant grows. God will answer anyone.” 14

Notes:

12. Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, Arabic no. 16

13. Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, no. 38, p.79

14. Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 246