Saying grace
From Bahai9
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Not an obligatory practice
"He does not feel that the friends should make a practice of saying grace or of teaching it to children. This is not part of the Baha'i Faith, but a Christian practice, and as the Cause embraces members of all races and religions we should be careful not to introduce into it the customs of our previous beliefs. Baha'u'llah has given us the obligatory prayers, also prayers before sleeping, for travellers, etc. We should not introduce a new set of prayers He has not specified, when He has given us already so many, for so many occasions."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, September 27, 1947; quoted in Lights of Guidance, no. 1501)
A prayer which may be said before meals
"O my Lord, my Hope! Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing. O our Lord! Strengthen us to partake of this heavenly food, so that its fine essence may run through the pillars of our spiritual being and that we may thereby obtain a celestial power for serving Thy Cause, promulgating Thy signs and adorning Thy vineyard with lofty trees, the fruits whereof shall be near (to gather) and of perfuming fragrances. Verily Thou art the Possessor of great bounty! Verily Thou are the Clement, the Merciful!"
- (Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás, p. 167)
Phrases to recite before and after meals
"When you begin to eat, begin with My Name El Abhá, {“The Glorious”, the superlative form of Bahá, “Glory”} and finish with the Name of God {“Yá Bahá’ul’Abhá” or “O Glory of the All-Glorious!"} the Possessor of the Throne and the earth."
- (Provisional Translation of the Lawh-i-Tibb (Tablet of Medicine))
A prayer which may be said after meals
"O my Lord, my Hope! Thanks be unto Thee for these foods and benefits. O Lord! Suffer us to ascend to Thy Kingdom and to sit at the tables of thy divine world. Nourish us with the food of Thy meeting and cause us to attain to the sweetness of beholding Thy beauty, forasmuch as this is the utmost wish, the mightiest gift and the greatest bestowal. O Lord, O Lord! Make this feasible unto us. Verily Thou art the Beneficent, the Giver! Verily Thou art the Bestower, the Mighty, the Merciful."
- (Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Abbás, p. 167)
