Prayer Indispensable and Obligatory
The use of prayer is enjoined upon Baha'is in no uncertain terms. Baha'u'llah says in the Kitab-i-Aqdas: - (62:6)

Recite ye the verses of God every morn and eventide. Whoso faileth to recite them hath not been faithful to the Covenant of God and His Testament, and whoso turneth away from these holy verses in this Day is of those who throughout eternity have turned away from God. Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all. Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self- Subsisting. Read ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency. Lay not upon your souls that which will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning- place of His manifest signs; this will draw you nearer to God, did ye but comprehend (62:8)

'Abdu'l-Baha says to a correspondent: - "O thou spiritual friend! Know thou that prayer is indispensable and obligatory, and man under no pretext whatever is excused therefrom unless he be mentally unsound or an insurmountable obstacle prevent him." (62:8)

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?" (63:1)

'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 (63:2)

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 Khan, October 1908) (63:3)

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 (63:4)

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