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The Shipwreck
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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, it was God's will, 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, that you should receive all you prayed for!
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