Thankful for Thy Bountiful Gifts

Commentary On Prayer For Peace [longer commentary]

The prayer “Send us Thy peace, O Lord” is a beautiful and powerful prayer that expresses the theme of gratefulness. The line “that we may be contented and thankful for Thy bountiful gifts” suggests that gratitude is essential for peace. When we are grateful for what we have, we are less likely to be envious or resentful of others. We are also more likely to be content with our lives, even when things are difficult.

The prayer also expresses the themes of unity, love, and compassion. The prayer asks that we may all unite in one family, that we may love one another, and that we may show compassion to all beings. These themes are all interconnected with gratitude. When we are grateful for what we have, we are more likely to feel connected to others and to want to help them.

The prayer “Send us Thy peace, O Lord” is a reminder that peace is not something that we can achieve on our own. It is a gift from the divine. However, we can open ourselves to receiving this gift by practicing gratitude, unity, love, and compassion. When we do this, we can experience peace in our own lives and in the world around us.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927), founder of the Sufi Order International, was born in North India into a distinguished Muslim family of musicians noted for their universality of outlook. He became a gifted vina player who toured all over India. In Hyderbad he met a Sufi teacher who altered the course of his life, guiding him to a high degree of spiritual awareness. His teacher’s dying words launched him on a new mission: “Fare forth into the world, my child, and harmonize the East and the West with the harmony of thy music. Spread the word of Sufism abroad, for to this end art thou gifted by Allah, the most Merciful and Compassionate.” In 1910 he sailed for the United States and spent the remaining seventeen years of his life in North America and Europe teaching what he called “that ancient wisdom from the one and only source.” Although Sufism is traditionally part of the mystical heritage of Islam, Hazrat Inayat Khan developed a pattern of worship and spiritual practice that draws upon the major religious traditions. “Khatum” (the word means “placing a seal”) is recited at the close of the Sufi Order International worship service. “Prayer for Peace” and “Prayer for the Peace of the World” are from the literature of the Sufi Order International.

–Eknath Easwaran [God Makes the Rivers to Flow, Nilgiri Press, Blue Mountain Center of Meditation].

Additional Hazrat Inayat Khan Passages

PRAYER FOR THE PEACE OF THE WORLD

O Thou, the Almighty Sun,
Whose light cleareth away all clouds,
We take refuge in Thee,
King of men, God of all deities,
Lord of all angels.

We pray Thee
Dispel the mists of illusion
From the hearts of the nations
And lift their lives
By Thy all-sufficient power.

Pour upon them
Thy limitless love
Thy everlasting life
Thy heavenly joy
And Thy perfect peace.

–Hazrat Inayat Khan [“Prayer for the Peace of the World”].

KHATUM

O Thou,
Who art the Perfection of
Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
The Lord of heaven and earth,

Open our hearts,
That we may hear Thy Voice,
Which constantly cometh from within.

Disclose to us Thy Divine Light,
Which is hidden in our souls,
That we may know and understand life better.

Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
Give us Thy great Goodness;
Teach us Thy loving Forgiveness;
Raise us above the distinctions and
differences which divide us;

Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit,
And unite us all in Thy Perfect Being.

–Hazrat Inayat Khan [“Khatum”].