Words Are Born of Worship

From the time of Adam to the time of Mohammed, prayer and fasting have changed their form, but worship is still the same.

I am looking all over the world for students of worship so that I can teach worship. I am looking all over the world for anyone who knows worship, but I find no student of worship—only of words, and so I occupy myself with words. What do you know of worship? Worship is only known through worship. There is not one traveler upon this road—it is empty—so how will anyone see if we are on the true path of worship? After all, prayer and fasting are not worship; these are forms of worship. Worship is an inward reality. From the time of Adam to the time of Mohammed, prayer and fasting have changed their form, but worship is still the same. Worship is not what people think it is. People believe worship is this outward show. But if a hypocrite performs only the form of worship, such as prayer or fasting, it gains them nothing, since the sincere desire for true worship was not present. The secret principle of all things is speech and words. You do not yet know the true knowledge of speech and words, therefore you consider them unimportant. However, speech is fruit from the tree of worship, for words are born of worship. God created the world by a word. You may have faith in your heart, but unless you share it through words, it is worth nothing. When you say, “In this present age words are of no account,” you say this with words, do you not? If words are of no account, then why do we hear you say this with words?
Fihi Ma Fihi - Discourse 15