I have a friend in Toronto who was invited to be the best-man at a wedding in…
bahaistories.com archive · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
Chicago (today: Chicago, Illinois, USA)
I have a friend in Toronto who was invited to be the best-man at a wedding in Chicago one Christmas. He was very anxious to go, but Christmas was the busiest season of his business year. He didn't think he should take the time off but finally he did. He booked his passage and closed his office early, but not quite early enough, and he raced all the way to the airport, praying and calling upon Bahá’u’lláh from the very depths of his being. He just had to get to that wedding. He arrived at the airport in time to see his plane depart. Despite all his prayers, and his great need to be on that plane, it was gone. He told me later, "John, I sat down and I cried." Can you imagine his despair? As he was sitting there in his agony of soul he heard an announcement of the departure of another flight for Chicago. He inquired and was told that his plane had been routed through Detroit, but this one was going through Buffalo, and if he hurried he might be able to get a seat on it. He hurried and he arrived at the wedding on time. The first flight had mechanical trouble and was grounded in Detroit. I ask you, were his prayers answered? We all know of many similar instances where fervent prayer is answered. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá assured us, "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.”
Source: John Robarts: http://bahaitalks.blogspot.in/2011/02/value-of-prayer-talk-by-hand-of-cause.html#more
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: prayer).
Discuss this story
For adults
- Where do justice and mercy meet in this story?
- How does this story illustrate the practice of justice?
- What stands out about John Robarts's response in this account?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice justice?
- Take one line from this story and let it stay with you today.
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "I have a friend in Toronto who was invited to be the best-man at a wedding in…" drawn from?
Where does this story take place?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/prayer
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
In that long-ago period when I was first a believer, I went to many places in…
In that long-ago period when I was first a believer, I went to many places in Canada and the United States to speak. I must tell you about one place because it often comes to my mind when I consider the subject of prayer. It was on April…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prayerfulness aided Him to sustain equanimity even in times of…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prayerfulness aided Him to sustain equanimity even in times of deep sorrow and dire anguish. His ‘love for God was the ground and cause of an equanimity which no circumstance could shake and of an inner happiness which no…
Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived, Ali-Kuli Khan considered what questions he would…
Before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived, Ali-Kuli Khan considered what questions he would ask Him upon His arrival. Dr. Khan realized that the one thing he wanted most to know was some prayer see might utter quickly and from deep within his heart,…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá beautifully tells us how the days that are without pain and…
‘Abdu’l-Bahá beautifully tells us how the days that are without pain and suffering in the path of the Blessed Beauty just pass by fruitlessly. When a believer feels the pain and suffering when making the calculations and contributions for…