Faith !!!

“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to"

George Seaton

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Hudson Taylor was a man of great faith in God as well as a great missionary. When he first went to China, it was in a sailing vessel.

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Very close to the shore of a cannibal island the wind died down, and the ship was slowly drifting towards shore. The inhabitants of the island were eagerly anticipating a big feast. Unable to go about and make the vessel turn around, the captain came to Mr. Taylor and begged him to pray to God for help.

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"I will," said Taylor, "provided you set your sail to catch the breeze."

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The captain declined to make himself a laughing stock by unfurling sails in a dead calm.

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Taylor said, "I will not undertake to pray for the vessel unless you will prepare the sails."

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And it was done. The missionary went to his stateroom to pray.

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While engaged in prayer, there was a knock at his door.

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"Whose there?"

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The captain's voice responded, "Are you still praying for wind?"

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"Yes."

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"Well," said the captain, "you'd better stop praying, for we have more wind than we can well manage."

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And, sure enough, when but a hundred yards from shore, a strong wind struck the sails of the boat, and took it deep into the sea. And so the inhabitants of the island were cheated out of their human prey.

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Sails are made to catch the wind. The spreading of the sails, the sailors could do, but it belongs to God to send the wind.

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Do you have faith in your prayer?

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A prayer done without faith seem to goes unanswered, not because God didn't answer, but because we weren't prepared for it.

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Just imagine what would have happened if the missionary had prayed and God had answered but the captain wasn't prepared with the sails?

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Next time you pray to God to give you rain, keep an umbrella handy.

If you pray for good grades, don't forget to study and be on time for the exams.

If you pray to God for good health, don't forget to excerise and eat what's neccesary for the body.

And if by any chance you pray to God for the jackpot of a lottery, don't forget to buy one.

Well, you could discard the last example, for God wouldn't want to answer prayers which are unethical.