Prayer
Our True Friend
Is any one alone in this world? No. There are so many people alongside each one of us.
Who is there alongside us, encouraging and assisting us as we grow? (our parents, our brothers and sisters, ….. who else?)
Through our life we make friends with more and more people. Some friendships last a long time. Others may not.
No matter how many friends come and go from our lives, God is always with us. He loves each one of us. He cares for us all. He gave us laws and teachings to guide and protect us (as we prayed for in the song).
God is a true friend, because He overlooks our weakness and faults, and see the praiseworthy things in us. If we do something wrong, He forgives us.
We should thank God and, no matter what is happening, let Him be our friend and our guide.
‘Abdu’l-Baha told us that God is more a friend to each one of us, than we are to ourselves.
Story
This story helps us to see that trust in God will strengthen you in times of difficulty, and will enable you to pass through such times without letting bitterness into your hearts.
Baha’u’llah was arrested and sent to prison by an unjust government. The government was fearful of the truth of Baha’u’llah’s message. Not only Baha’u’llah but many were taken from their homes and families and locked in the most terrible prison, an underground dungeon, where they were bound in heavy chains.
The prisoners could breath no fresh air and the floor was covered in filth and crawling with rats and insects. No light reached the dungeon, it was always icy cold. As the prisoners sat facing each other in that horrible place, Baha’u’llah taught them to chant verses that strengthened their trust in God and reminded them that God would give them the strength they needed, and to hold tight to the truth that was in their hearts.
As evening came they would begin their song. “God is sufficient unto me” one row would call out, “He verily is the All-Sufficing!” then the other row would respond, “In Him let the trusting trust”.
Throughout the night they would repeat these words, so loudly that the sound of their uplifted voices reached even the king in his palace nearby.
When he heard the sound of the prisoners, the cruel king asked from where it came. He was told that this was the sound of the prisoners who were locked in the dungeon with Baha’u’llah.
The king said nothing more. It was clear that, no matter what horrible things he did to these prisoners, there was nothing he could do to turn them away from the truth that they had embraced.
Being a true friend
(Try to remember 1 or 2 of these things, for the questions at the end of the class)
True friends trust each other.
- Would a true friend lie to you? Or would they always be trustworthy?
- Would a true friend see the bad in you or the good?
- What would a true friend when you sometimes make a mistake?
- Does true friendship become weaker or stronger over time?
- We should all be trustworthy AND learn to choose friends to are trustworthy.
- We should not allow ourselves to be cheated by those who are not trustworthy.
- We need friends who wish to please God, and are trying to follow His path, and who will help us to stay on the straight path.
True friends care for each other:
- If our friend is sad we do what we can to bring joy to their hearts.
- If they are sick we want them to be cared for.
- We forgive them and they forgive us.
- Neither would every want to bring sadness to the heart of the other.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha begged God that we will bring joy to each other.
Questions:
- Can you tell me something about being a true friend?
- How do you know if someone is a good friend?
- Who is the truest Friend that you can have, and He is always with you, caring about you?
- Remember the prisoners? If we know God as our true friend then we are ready for anything.
A song about being a true friend.
Story – A folktale about the nature of friendship.
Once there was a mountain whose peak was so high that it might have been the tallest mountain in the world. It was so tall that the clouds were its only company. But how the mountain enjoyed playing with its big billowing friends! And the clouds, too, were happy to gather around the mountain’s snowy peak. Sometimes they would laugh so heartily that they would cry, raining tears on the earth below.
Then one hot summer the mountain found itself alone for many days. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky, and the mountain felt very sad, missing its blustering friends. “Why don’t the clouds run and play in your big bright blueness anymore?” it asked the wide sky.
“They have all gone to the kingdom of winter, very far from here,” the sky replied. “They will not return until the end of summer.”
“But I miss them so much!” cried the mountain with a sigh. “Maybe I should go to the winter kingdom as well and visit my friends.”
“You are a mountain,” the sky said firmly. “Mountains are heavy and cannot fly as the clouds can. You must remain in the same place.”
Now the mountain became very sad indeed and started to cry. Huge tears ran down its face, and soon streams and rivers were flowing from its snowy peak. Then something wonderful happened. The dried, cracked soil in the plain far below began to drink up the mountain’s tears. Before long, the plain was covered in fresh green growth.
The grateful plain called up to the mountain. “Kind mountain!” it said, “Thank you for saving me from a terrible fate! Your pure water has healed all my wounds. Look at how it has helped me!”
The mountain was so surprised that it stopped crying. Until then nobody had ever spoken to the mountain from below. It looked down and gasped when it saw the flourishing green meadow, shining and fresh. To see its beauty made the mountain content. How happy it was to have found a new friend in the meadow.
[Adapted from a story by M. Screbtsova published in The Steps of Wisdom (Moscow, 2002), pp 44-45]
Hola Lola (Song)