Prayer with Faith
This is a Hindu story from India. The local holy man who lived beside the river was astonished to hear from his pupils that the shepherd girl who brought milk daily from across the river did so by walking right on top of the running water. He called the girl and asked her whether it was true. She said, “Of course!”
Then he asked, “Do you think I could also do it?” “Yes, of course,” she answered. “All you have to do is keep repeating the name of God as I do, and you will cross safely on top of the water.”
The guru decided to give it a try. They started across the river. The girl in front and the guru behind her. He kept moving right along, faithfully repeating the name of God. But then, afraid that his yellow robe would get wet in the water, the guru reached down and pulled up its hem. Then he began to sink lower with each step. The girl looked back and saw his problem and exclaimed with innocent laughter, “Not that way, Master. Not that way! With the name of the Lord on your lips and the edge of your tunic in your right hand… that is not the way to cross the river.” The guru never got there.
What the girl was saying in translation was this: Half-hearted prayer is no prayer. Prayer is faith; faith is commitment; commitment is wholehearted or it is no commitment at all. If you have courage, let go of your tunic and walk through life on the strength of God’s name.
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