No. 118 of 124 · A Name of God · The Long Healing Prayer
The Lord of Utterance
In calling on God as the Lord of Utterance, we acknowledge that all meaningful speech, all creative power, all healing word flows from a single divine source.
I call on Thee O Thou Who penetratest all things, O All-Seeing God, O Lord of Utterance! Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! Bahá'u'lláh, The Long Healing Prayer · read the full prayer
What “The Lord of Utterance” means
What follows reflects on this 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.
To speak of God as the Lord of Utterance is to recognize that language itself is not a merely human invention. Before we ever formed a sentence, before the first cry of a newborn or the first poem scratched into clay, there was a divine Word, a generative, reality-shaping power that brought order out of nothing. Every genuine expression of truth, beauty, or compassion that passes between human beings carries, however faintly, the echo of that original creative speech. When Bahá'u'lláh invokes God by this name, he is pointing to a sovereignty that is not primarily political or even moral, but communicative at its very root: God reigns as the One from whom all meaningful utterance proceeds.
There is something quietly humbling in this name. It reminds us that even our prayers, the words we are using right now to reach toward the divine, are themselves gifts. We did not invent the capacity to speak to God; that capacity was granted to us. The Lord of Utterance is therefore not a distant editor correcting our clumsy sentences, but the living source from which the impulse to call out in the first place arises. Our words return, in some sense, to the One who made words possible.
This name also carries a note of wholeness. Scholars of Semitic traditions have long observed that 'word' in these contexts means far more than verbal sound, it encompasses intention, will, and creative act bound together. When God is called the Lord of Utterance, the implication is that divine speech is never empty or accidental. It is always purposive, always laden with meaning, always capable of doing what it says. That is a very different kind of lordship from any human authority, and sitting with that difference opens something in the mind that ordinary reflection rarely reaches.
Calling on The Lord of Utterance for healing
When illness narrows your world, when pain makes it hard to think, or grief steals your words entirely, it can feel as though you have nothing adequate to bring to prayer. This is precisely where the name Lord of Utterance offers something gentle and practical. You do not need a perfectly composed petition. The One you are addressing is the source of utterance itself, which means even a wordless turning of the heart, even the ragged breath of someone too exhausted to speak, is already understood. There is no minimum vocabulary required to reach the Lord of all words.
You might also find this name meaningful if your healing involves voice in a more literal sense, a struggle with anxiety that silences you, a relational wound that has broken communication, or a physical condition affecting speech or hearing. Holding this name in mind during such times is not a guarantee of any particular outcome; healing unfolds in ways that surpass our understanding, and it is always wise to work alongside competent physicians and other caregivers. But calling on the Lord of Utterance can be a quiet act of trust, an acknowledgment that the power capable of speaking reality into existence has not lost track of you, and that whatever words of comfort or clarity you need, their source has not run dry.
Also sought as: lord of utterance long healing prayer · lord of utterance bahai prayer · god as source of speech bahai · divine word bahai healing prayer · lawh-i-anta'l-kafi names of god · bahai long healing prayer names of god · lord of utterance meaning bahai · bahaullah healing prayer divine names · creative word of god bahai · names of god in bahai healing prayer.
Living the Word
Applying The Lord of Utterance in your life
A name of God is a virtue to grow into. Where is The Lord of Utterance 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
“13. 5O Pen of the Most High! Recount unto him who hath turned unto Thy Lord, the All-Glorious, that which shall enable him to dispense with the sayings of men. Say: Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and hearing are but one single reality which hath manifold expressions owing to the diversity of its instruments. As thou dost observe, man’s power to comprehend, move, speak, hear, and see all derive from this sign of his Lord within him. It is single in its essence, yet manifold through the diversity of its instruments. This, verily, is a certain truth. For example, if it directeth its attention to the means of hearing, then hearing and its attributes become manifest. Likewise, if it directeth itself to the means of vision, a different effect and attribute appear. Reflect upon this subject that thou mayest comprehend the true meaning of what hath been intended, find thyself independent of the sayings of the people, and be of them that are well assured. In like manner, when this sign of God turneth towards the brain, the head, and such means, the powers of the mind and the soul are manifested.”
Read in full at bahai.org →“35 O Pen of the Most High! Recount unto him who hath turned unto Thy Lord, the All-Glorious, that which shall enable him to dispense with the sayings of men. Say: Spirit, mind, soul, and the powers of sight and hearing are but one single reality which hath manifold expressions owing to the diversity of its instruments. As thou dost observe, man’s power to comprehend, move, speak, hear, and see all derive from this sign of his Lord within him. It is single in its essence, yet manifold through the diversity of its instruments. This, verily, is a certain truth. For example, if it directeth its attention to the means of hearing, then hearing and its attributes become manifest. Likewise, if it directeth itself to the means of vision, a different effect and attribute appear. Reflect upon this subject that thou mayest comprehend the true meaning of what hath been intended, find thyself independent of the sayings of the people, and be of them that are well assured. In like manner, when this sign of God turneth towards the brain, the head, and such means, the powers of the mind and the soul are manifested.”
Read in full at bahai.org →“10.1Glory be to the Lord of the world, and thanks be to the Hands of His Cause, and praise be to the Trustees of His House of Justice, who, in their endeavours to raise aloft His Word and exalt His utterance, have renounced themselves and all created things, and are regardful of and tenaciously adhering to whatsoever will promote the Cause of God. We fain would hope that there may appear from these chosen ones of God, who are related to the Most Great Name, that which in the realm of action shall be the king of deeds, and in the realm of speech the prince of utterances. Through the benevolent exertions of these souls, the world is radiant and luminous with the light of justice and equity. Glorified be the majesty of God, our Lord and the Lord of the Mighty Throne.”
Read in full at bahai.org →Questions about The Lord of Utterance
- Why does a healing prayer invoke God as the Lord of Utterance rather than a name more directly connected to the body?
- The Long Healing Prayer addresses the whole person, body, mind, and spirit, and draws on a wide range of divine names to do so. Invoking God as the Lord of Utterance reminds us that healing itself can be understood as a kind of creative act, a reordering of what has been broken, not unlike the way speech gives form to what was formless. It also roots the prayer in the conviction that the words we use to call on God are not separate from the divine reality they address.
- Does calling on this name mean God will literally speak to me or give me a sign?
- This is a beautiful question to sit with, though it calls for humility rather than a firm answer. The Bahá'í writings encourage us to approach prayer as genuine communion with God, but the form that communion takes varies widely from person to person. Calling on the Lord of Utterance is less a request for a specific supernatural event and more an opening of oneself to however divine guidance, comfort, or clarity might arrive, which can be through reflection, through the words of a trusted person, or simply through a quieting of inner noise.
- Can I use this prayer if I am not Bahá'í?
- Many people outside the Bahá'í Faith find the Long Healing Prayer meaningful and have turned to it in times of difficulty. The prayer is widely available and is not restricted in its use. If you are drawn to it, the spirit of the prayer itself, with its repeated invocations of God's mercy and sufficiency, seems to welcome any sincere heart.
- Should I rely on this prayer instead of seeing a doctor?
- No, and the Bahá'í teachings are clear on this point: seeking competent medical care is itself encouraged as a God-given means of healing. Prayer and medicine are not in competition; they address different dimensions of our need. Use the prayer as a source of spiritual sustenance and trust, and please consult qualified healthcare professionals for your physical and mental health.
Listen to, recite, and reflect on the whole prayer, its more than one hundred names of God.
Hear the Long Healing Prayer