Learning a Prayer or Scripture Verse by Heart

12 Mulk 163 B.E. - Sunday, February 18, 2007

The phrase “learn it by heart” always fascinated me. Some people use the word memorizes, but when you’re learning a prayer I think “by heart” is more appropriate. I remember when I was a child I memorized two prayers and a scripture verse. One of the prayers was the Lord ’s Prayer from the New Testament and the other was “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”. The Scripture was the 23rd Psalms from the Old Testament.

As I get older learning prayer by heart is a bit more difficult and takes longer, but the reward is the same. When I became a Baha’I I begin using the prayers revealed by the central figures. As a result I’ve learned the prayer I say most often by heart. However, learning a prayer “by heart” is more than just repeating it over and over again. Another aspect of memorizing a prayer is feeling the Holy Spirit when you say the prayer.

I can remember repeating the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalms as I was growing up. Every time I said either of those verses, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. The same it true when I repeat a prayer of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, or ‘Abdu’l-Baha. The presence of God’s Spirit is especially strong when I recite the Table of Ahmad. No matter what my problem or mood at the time I recite the Table, it changes. If I’m sad or depressed I became happy. If I have a problem than I get the feeling that the problem is solved and all I have to do is open my eyes and see the solution or wait for the solution to present itself.

I’m not sure how long it took me to memorize the Tablet of Ahmad. I just remember waking up one morning and repeat the Tablet all the way through without looking at my prayer book. The interesting thing about memorization is that you have to review what you’ve memorized daily. There was a while, when life was going smoothly that I didn’t say the Table every day. As a result I forgot it. However, when I went to learn the Table again it was easier, so maybe I didn’t completely forget the prayer or maybe memorizing something a second time is just easier than it is the first time, no matter how old you are.

It’s interesting about learning scripture verses. I find it easier to learn them if I repeat the verse several times before I go to sleep. Of course, some verses are easier to learn than others, but no matter how difficult or easy the verse is to learn you have to review them either daily or, at least, every other day. The soul may remember the verse, but the human brain and mind have a tenancy to forget unless one reviews the memorized verses on a regular basis. Although, I have found that verses I thought I’d forgotten come to mind at the times I need them the most.