PRECIOUS PEBBLES
A poor man prayed to God for an end to his poverty. He was sad and angry that God did not grant his wish in spite of his fervent prayers. One day he stopped his prayer and shouted foul words against the cruelty of God. Wandering carelessly, he reached a beach. His legs hit on a cloth bag lying on the sands. He kicked it angrily and assumed that it contained pebbles. He took the bag in his hands and angrily threw the stones one by one with all his might at the raging waves of the sea. At each throw he cursed God for not listening to his prayers. When he was about to throw the last stone into the sea, he noticed that the stone glittered in the sunlight. He examined it closely and found that it was a very precious diamond. He was very sorry for losing the rest of the diamonds in the bag by his foolishness.All of our prayers may not be answered immediately. Some of our prayers will never be granted. God alone knows the type of gift that suits us most and the best time to grant His gifts. It is not advisable to crave for affluence as excessive wealth may hinder our way to sanctity and salvation and ruin our character and peace. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray thus: "Give us today the food we need" {Matthew 6:11}. An ideal prayer from the Book of Proverbs is, "Keep me from lying and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God"{Proverbs 30: 8-9}.
This is Story No. 27 in this site. Please click ‘Older Post’ at the bottom of this page to read previous stories and click 'Newer Post' at the bottom of this page to read newer stories in this site. Please click on a word in the 'Story Themes' to read stories on that theme.
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