No. 62 of 124 · A Name of God · The Long Healing Prayer
The Generous One
When we call on God as The Generous One, we are reaching toward a generosity so vast it exceeds anything we can measure or anticipate.
I call on Thee O Just One, O Gracious One, O Generous One! Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! Bahá'u'lláh, The Long Healing Prayer · read the full prayer
Plain meaning · Generous
1. Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [Obs.] The generous and gravest citizens. Shak. 2. Exhibiting those qualities which are popularly reregarded as belonging to high birth; noble; honorable; magnanimous; spirited; courageous. "The generous critic." Pope. "His generous spouse." Pope. "A generous pack [of hounds]." Addison. 3. Open-handed; free to give; not close or niggardly; munificent; as, a generous friend or father. 4. Characterized by generosity; abundant; overflowing; as, a generous table. Swift. 5. Full of spirit or strength; stimulating; exalting; as, generous wine. Syn.
Definition from Webster's Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain). When these Writings were translated into English, the translator relied on Webster's New International Dictionary, 1934 edition, of the same Webster's tradition. source
What “The Generous One” means
The meaning above is the plain dictionary definition of the word. What follows reflects on it as a name of God, offered for your own contemplation, and not as an authoritative interpretation of the Bahá'í Writings, which rests with ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi alone.
Generosity, at its human scale, involves giving something of value to someone who needs it, time, attention, resources, love. But when this name is applied to God, it points toward a quality that operates on an entirely different order. The divine generosity is not constrained by inventory or calculation. It does not diminish with giving, and it is not withheld because of the unworthiness of the one asking. This is generosity as an attribute of Being itself, flowing outward without exhaustion.
There is something deeply personal evoked by this name. A generous person is not distant or indifferent, generosity implies a turning toward the one in need, a willingness to be moved by another's condition. Calling God 'The Generous One' carries within it the quiet conviction that we are seen, that our need is registered, and that the source of all good things is inclined toward us rather than away from us. This is not a cold theological proposition. It is the kind of understanding that can change how a person breathes in a difficult moment.
The name also invites a kind of reciprocity, not in the sense that we can repay divine generosity, but that recognizing it tends to loosen the grip of fear and scarcity in us. People who have genuinely felt the generosity of someone they trust often become more generous themselves. Meditating on this name in prayer can be a doorway into that same opening of the heart, a softening of the anxious self-protectiveness that illness, grief, or uncertainty can produce in us.
Calling on The Generous One for healing
When you are sick, or frightened, or worn down in ways that medicine alone cannot fully address, calling on The Generous One is an act of honest trust. It is not a demand and not a bargain, it is more like turning your face toward the warmth you believe is there, even when you cannot feel it clearly. You are acknowledging that what you most need, at the deepest level, comes from a Source that gives without grudging, that does not ration its care based on whether you have deserved it. This posture alone can begin to shift something interior, loosening the tight knot of despair or resistance that so often accompanies suffering.
It is worth holding gently the understanding that healing, as a gift from The Generous One, may come in forms we did not anticipate or request. Physical recovery is one form; clarity in the midst of chronic illness is another; peace in the face of what cannot be changed is another still. None of us is in a position to determine in advance which form of healing is right for our particular moment, that rests in a wisdom greater than our own. So we pray, we call on this name with sincerity, and we also take every practical step available to us, including seeking qualified medical care. The two are not in competition. Reaching toward divine generosity and reaching toward competent physicians are both expressions of taking our own wellbeing seriously.
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Living the Word
Applying The Generous One in your life
A name of God is a virtue to grow into. Where is The Generous One being asked of you right now, and how will you practice it? Keep a short note each time you return, and watch your own path with this name take shape over time. It stays on this device.
In the Bahá'í Writings
“15.3O handmaid of God! The prayers which were revealed to ask for healing apply both to physical and spiritual healing. Recite them, then, to heal both the soul and the body. If healing is right for the patient, it will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would only be the cause of other ills, and therefore wisdom doth not permit an affirmative answer to the prayer. 15.4O handmaid of God! The power of the Holy Spirit healeth both physical and spiritual ailments. Acquiring Divine Virtues”
Read in full at bahai.org →“God Is the Great Compassionate Physician Who Alone Gives True Healing October 19th All true healing comes from God! There are two causes for sickness, one is material, the other spiritual. If the sickness is of the body, a material remedy is needed, if of the soul, a spiritual remedy. If the heavenly benediction be upon us while we are being healed then only can we be made whole, for medicine is but the outward and visible means through which we obtain the heavenly healing. Unless the spirit be healed, the cure of the body is worth nothing. All is in the hands of God, and without Him there can be no health in us! There have been many men who have died at last of the very disease of which they have made a special study. Aristotle, for instance, who made a special study of the digestion, died of a gastric malady. Avicenna was a specialist of the heart, but he died of heart disease. God is the great compassionate Physician who alone has the power to give true healing. All creatures are dependent upon God, however great may seem their knowledge, power and independence.”
Read in full at bahai.org →“… O handmaid of God! The prayers which were revealed to ask for healing apply both to physical and spiritual healing. Recite them, then, to heal both the soul and the body. If healing is right for the patient, it will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would only be the cause of other ills, and therefore wisdom doth not permit an affirmative answer to the prayer. O handmaid of God! The power of the Holy Spirit healeth both physical and spiritual ailments. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, no. 139) [78] Spirit has influence; prayer has spiritual effect. Therefore, we pray, “O God! Heal this sick one!” Perchance God will answer. Does it matter who prays? 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. He answers the prayer of this plant. The plant prays potentially, “O God! Send me rain!” God answers the prayer, and the plant grows. God will answer anyone.”
Read in full at bahai.org →Questions about The Generous One
- Does calling God 'The Generous One' mean my prayer for healing will be answered with a cure?
- Not necessarily in the way we might hope or expect. The understanding within the Bahá'í teachings is that healing prayers apply to both physical and spiritual dimensions, and that whether a particular form of healing is granted depends on a wisdom beyond our own view of the situation. Calling on The Generous One is an act of trust and openness, not a mechanism that guarantees a specific medical outcome. It places us in a posture of receptivity to whatever form of goodness is truly right for us.
- Should I still see a doctor if I am praying the Long Healing Prayer?
- Absolutely, yes. Prayer and medical care are understood in the Bahá'í teachings as complementary, not competing approaches to healing. Seeking out qualified, competent physicians is encouraged, not discouraged, alongside devotional practice. The two can and should go hand in hand.
- Why is 'The Generous One' placed alongside names like 'The Just One' and 'The Gracious One' in this line of the prayer?
- The clustering of divine names in this line creates a kind of constellation of qualities, justice, grace, and generosity together suggest a God who is both principled and overflowing with care. Each name illuminates the others slightly differently, so that the person praying is not invoking a single narrow attribute but approaching a fullness of divine character. Reflecting on how these names relate to one another can deepen the experience of reciting the prayer.
- Can someone who is not Bahá'í use this prayer or reflect on these names?
- The Long Healing Prayer is a text from the Bahá'í sacred writings, and these pages are written from within that devotional context. That said, the Bahá'í teachings affirm the validity of sincere prayer from any heart, and many people outside the Bahá'í community find meaning in exploring these names. How any individual chooses to relate to this prayer is a personal and spiritual matter entirely their own.
Listen to, recite, and reflect on the whole prayer, its more than one hundred names of God.
Hear the Long Healing Prayer