A man?s daughter had asked the local pastor to come and
pray with her father. When
the pastor arrived, he found
the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two
pillows and an empty chair beside his bed.
The pastor assumed that the old fellow had been informed
of his visit. ?I
guess you were expecting me,? he said.
?No, who are you?? ?I?m
the new associate at your local
church,? the pastor replied. ?When I saw the empty chair,
I figured you knew I was going to show up.?
?Oh yeah, the chair,? said the bedridden man.
?Would you
mind closing the door?? Puzzled,
the pastor shut the door.
?I?ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,? said the
man. ?But all
of my life I have never known
how to pray.
In Church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,
but
it always went right over my head.
I abandoned any
attempt at prayer,? the old man continued,
?until one day
about four years ago my best friend said to me,
?Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a
conversation with Jesus.
Here?s what I suggest:
Sit down on a chair; place an empty chair in front of you,
and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It?s not spooky
because he promised, I?ll be with you always.
Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you?re
doing with me right now.?
So, I tried it and I?ve liked it so much that I do it a
couple of hours every day. I?m
careful, though. If my
daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she?d either
have a nervous breakdown or send me
to off to the funny
farm.?
The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged
the old guy to continue
on the journey. Then he prayed
with him, and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that
her
daddy had
died
that
afternoon.
?Did he seem to die in peace?? he asked.
?Yes, when I left the house around two o?clock, he called
me over to his bedside,
told me one of his corny jokes, and
kissed me on the cheek. When
I got back from the store
an hour later, I found him dead.
But there was
something strange, in fact, beyond strange-really weird.
Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and
rested his head on a chair beside the bed.?
* author unknown
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