 A
voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men
on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.
The two survivors, not knowing what
else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to
divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the
island.
The first thing they prayed for was food.
The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of
the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of
land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely
and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was
wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the
land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon the first man prayed for a house,
clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to
him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship,
so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he
found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the
ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.
He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first
man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your
companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone, since I was
the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were
all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked
him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you
would not have received any of my blessings.”
“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.
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Thursday, 19 June 2014
The Ship
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