The Power of Faith: How Prayer Enabled A Passenger To Survive the Titanic Disaster
Blessed is the man who has the God of Jacob for his helper. (Psalm 146:5)
On board the Titanic after its early morning collision with an iceberg, Monday, April 15, 1912, 12.30 am. Retired Colonel Archibald Gracie had helped with the lowering of two lifeboats. Women and children only was the order. He did what he could in shepherding them to the boats. Five minutes before the ship went down he found himself near the ‘Officers House’. Looking up he saw a man lying on his stomach on the roof. With the assistance of a wave rolling along the deck he was able to get himself on the roof.
He gripped the iron railing around the roof as the Titanic began to go down. The Colonel went down with it. “Down, down I went. It seemed a great distance.” He was able to retain his sense of direction and pushed off and swam with all his strength away from the starboard side of the ship. “I seemed endowed with an extra supply of strength for the occasion.” Later he realized the life buoy he had on, and air escaping from the ship had hindered him from being sucked all the way down with the ship.
He continued to swim under water for as long as he could hold his breath. At this time he thought of his wife and daughter . “I thought if I prayed hard enough my last wish to…
