Humbly we prayed for food...

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HUMBLY WE PRAYED FOR FOOD... WITHIN AN HOUR A SEA GULL CAME AND LANDED ON MY HEAD

The men in the rubber life rafts were in a pretty bad way. Their plane, on a war mission in the Pacific, had been forced down eight days ago; and they had been drifting helplessly ever since, without food or water, in the scorching tropic sun. Their feet were blistered, their faces burned, their mouths and bodies parched. For eight days they had lived on four small oranges—no other food, and no water. The heat, the hunger, the exhaustion, had brought them close to the breaking point.

But not Captain Eddie Rickenbacker! He had been in tight places before, had come face to face with death several times in the past. And he alone refused to despair; he alone never gave up faith that they would be found and picked up, that somehow they would be saved.

For Eddie Rickenbacker believed in prayer. He had learned to pray as a child at his mother’s knee; and in all the crises of his life, prayer had given him comfort and courage, prayer had helped him through his difficulties. He firmly believed it would help him again in this emergency.

Most of the men in the rubber life rafts were young and inexperienced, facing their first great trial. They needed the strength and understanding he could give them out of his own experience. They needed the example of his great faith and trust, those unfailing resources that buttress a man from within and give him the endurance to face what he must. They needed the calming, comforting influence of prayer.

One of the men in his boat had a small Bible, and they took turns reading aloud from it every day. It was a reassurance from the very first that they were not alone, that God knew where they were and would take care of them.

Now, on the eighth day of hunger and thirst, the men were desperate. There was no sign of a boat or plane anywhere—nothing but the wide, empty, shining expanse of sea. One of the men was violently sick from drinking sea water. Some were beginning to show the first alarming signs of delirium. It was suggested that the following passage from Matthew be read to the men that day:

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? . . . for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

What happened next seemed like a miracle to the suffering men, seemed like a direct answer to their prayer. And who can say it was not? A gull flew in out of nowhere and landed on Rickenbacker’s head. He reached up and caught it—and they had food. They ran into their first rainstorm—and they had water for drinking. Food and water! Their prayers had been answered! The experience filled the men with awe and astonishment, and there were no longer any unbelievers in the life rafts. From then on they prayed with new confidence, with strong new faith. From then on they believed with “Captain Eddie” that God was with them and that they would be saved.

And they were! They drifted for nearly two weeks longer—weak, emaciated, and in the end more nearly dead than alive—but still believing, and still expecting to be saved. And at last, on the twenty-first day of their ordeal, they were located by searching planes and picked up. It was a truly miraculous rescue, for the rafts were less than dots on the ocean’s surface and impossible to see from a distance. The planes had to fly almost directly above them to find them.

When news of the rescue was flashed around the world, people everywhere were thrilled and excited, for nearly everyone had given the men up for lost. But what moved people most was Rickenbacker’s simple, unaffected explanation: “We prayed.” The story, as told in his own words, went straight to the hearts of millions of people:

After we got going naturally we got to thinking about our food and water, but we didn’t dare go back to the ship for fear she would sink and suck us down with it. Then we ran into a five-day calm, which left the ocean like a mirror. It was beastly hot. . . . Our hands, face, and feet suffered particularly. . . .

We saw nothing in the way of searching planes or ships. The boy in my boat had an issue Bible in the pocket of his jumper, and the second day out we organized little evening and morning prayer meetings and took turn about reading passages from the Bible. Frankly and humbly we prayed for our deliverance. After the oranges were gone, we experienced terrific pangs of hunger, and we prayed for food.

We had a couple of little fish lines with hooks about the size of the end of my little finger, but no bait. Were it not for the fact that I have seven witnesses, I wouldn’t dare tell this story because it seems so fantastic. Within an hour after prayer meeting on the eighth day, a sea gull came out of nowhere and landed on my head. I reached up my hand very gently and got him. We wrung his head, feathered him, carved up his carcass and ate every bit, even the little bones. We distributed and used his innards for bait.*

Captain Cherry caught a little mackerel about six or eight inches long and I caught a little speckled sea bass about the same size, so we had food for a couple of days. . . .

That night we ran into our first rainstorm. Usually you try to avoid a black squall, but in this case we made it our business to get into it and catch water for drinking. . . . Later we were able to catch more water and build up our supply.

*There were originally eight men in the three tiny rubber lifeboats, which were fastened together with rope. One man died on the thirteenth day; but the other seven came safely through the ordeal.

The day this story appeared in the newspapers, people everywhere were noticeably affected by it. For it was far more than a story of courage and physical endurance, of which there were many in those tragic war years. It was an amazing demonstration of the power of prayer, one of the most thrilling sagas of faith in action to come out of World War II.

Every paper in the land picked up Rickenbacker’s story. Ministers preached sermons about it. Writers wrote glowing articles and editorials about it. Public figures discussed it from the lecture platform and over the radio.

“We prayed.”

There was almost a Biblical feeling to Rickenbacker’s words. He and his companions were lost at sea . . . they prayed . . . they were saved. It was as simple as that, and as inspiring. People who hadn’t prayed in years began to do so again. Some who had never prayed in their lives began to search their souls with a new questioning. Many who were anguished, bitter, and despairing, who had suffered profound grief during the war, felt the pain of their hearts ease and the bitterness leave them. It was as though something wonderful and fine had happened to everyone, everywhere . . . as indeed it had! Eddie Rickenbacker’s story enormously increased and intensified the feeling of faith in millions of hearts, and gave people courage and hope when they needed it most.

“I consider the story of how we prayed and how our prayers were answered the most important message I ever gave to the people of this country,” wrote Captain Rickenbacker in a personal communication with the author of this book.

It is far more than that. Captain Rickenbacker’s famous saga of the Pacific, revealing the power of faith to help men endure an almost unbelievable ordeal, is one of the truly great stories of the war . . . and one of the most inspiring.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. — Matthew 7:7

All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. — Matthew 21:22

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired. — Martin Luther

*
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend?
— Alfred Tennyson

*
Prayer is not only worship; it is also an invisible emanation of man’s worshiping spirit—the most powerful form of energy that one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is as demonstrable as that of secreting glands. Its results can be measured in terms of increased physical buoyancy, greater intellectual vigor, moral stamina, and a deeper understanding of the realities underlying human relationships.

If you make a habit of sincere prayer, your life will be very noticeably and profoundly altered. Prayer stamps with its indelible mark our actions and demeanor. A tranquillity of bearing, a facial and bodily repose, are observed in those whose inner lives are thus enriched. Within the depths of consciousness a flame kindles. And man sees himself. He discovers his selfishness, his silly pride, his fears, his greed, his blunders. He develops a sense of moral obligation, intellectual humility. Thus begins a journey of the soul toward the realm of grace.

Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men, after all other therapy has failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. It is the only power in the world that seems to overcome the so-called “laws of nature”; the occasions on which prayer has dramatically done this have been termed “miracles.” But a constant, quieter miracle takes place hourly in the hearts of men and women who have discovered that prayer supplies them with a steady flow of sustaining power in their daily lives.

Too many people regard prayer as a formalized routine of words, a refuge for weaklings, or a childish petition for material things. We sadly undervalue prayer when we conceive it in these terms, just as we should underestimate rain by describing it as something that fills the birdbath in our garden. Properly understood, prayer is a mature activity indispensable to the fullest development of personality—the ultimate integration of man’s highest faculties. Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind, and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength.

— Alexis Carrel

*
Oft have I seen at some cathedral door
A laborer, pausing in the dust and heat,
Lay down his burden, and with reverent feet
Enter, and cross himself, and on the floor
Kneel to repeat his paternoster o’er;
Far off the noises of the world retreat;
The loud vociferations of the street
Become an undistinguishable roar.
So, as I enter here from day to day,
And leave my burden at this minster gate,
Kneeling in prayer, and not ashamed to pray,
The tumult of the time disconsolate
To inarticulate murmurs dies away,
While the eternal ages watch and wait.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

*
The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.

— William James

Taken from the chapter: "Humbly We Prayed for Food" by Eddie Rickenbacker from the book "Light from Many Lamps"

End Notes

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" is a biblical phrase (Matthew 6:34) advising against worrying about future problems

. It means each day brings enough troubles, challenges, or "evil" (adversity) to handle on its own, so one should focus only on present difficulties rather than borrowing future anxiety. 

Key Aspects of the Phrase: 

• Origin: Spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 6:34.
• Meaning of "Evil": In this context, "evil" does not mean evil in a moral sense, but rather trouble, worry, pain, or adversity.
• Core Message: Do not borrow trouble from tomorrow. Focus on the present moment, as today has enough challenges to deal with, and tomorrow will bring its own challenges
  .
   

Usage Examples: 

• "I know you're worried about next year's budget, but sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof," meaning focus on current issues.
• "Let's not stress about the upcoming move; sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof
• "The deadline is weeks away. I'm focusing on today's tasks; sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof 

Synonyms & Related Phrases: 

• Live in the moment / Live in the present.
• One day at a time.
• Don't borrow trouble.
• Take no thought for the morrow (from the same verse).
• Cross that bridge when you come to it.