... speaking privately, fervent prayer, inward conversation with God.

Throughout human history, great teachers, guides and friends have been sent to help us remember, not so much to teach us, but rather to set before us a beautiful and practical example of what a human being can be, helping us to remember what we too can be.

 Pir 'Abdullah Ansari, was one of the great Persian Sufi teachers of the 11th century. In a little book called Munajat, Pir Ansari recorded a number of insightful prayers which show the way that he thought about prayer, and the way that we too must learn to humble our little self unto the Greater Power.

As is the case with many Sufi teachings, these prayers have multiple levels of meaning. On the surface they show the need for humility, but when one looks deeper, the prayers give us hope and courage, because they remind us that God is the ultimate Teacher, Guide and Friend who desires to express love, harmony and beauty through our own lives.

On the surface, the prayers seem to be asking for something, but on a deeper level they are a celebration of the precious gifts which have already been granted to each of us, if only we have the wisdom to rise above our habitual self-centered viewpoint and embrace the great flow of wonder, peace and might which is being showered upon us in every moment by the beneficent and ever-merciful Divine Presence.

Here are a few of my favorite prayers from Munājāt:

In glory Thou art merciful, in perfection divine;
Neither need of space nor wish for time hast Thou;
No being is like Thee, nor art Thou like any.