When the minister
arrived, he found the man
lying in bed with his
head propped up on two
pillows. An empty chair
sat beside his bed.
The minister
assumed that the old
fellow had been informed
of his visit.
"I guess
you were expecting
me," he said.
"No, who
are you?" said the
father.
The minister
told him his name and
then remarked, "I
see 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
minister shut the door.
"I have
never told anyone this,
not even my
daughter," said the
man. "But all of my
life I have never known
how to pray. At church I
used to hear the pastor
talk about prayer, but it
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, 'Johnny, prayer is
just a simple matter of
having a conversation
with Jesus. Here is what
I suggest. Sit down in 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 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 off to the funny
farm."
The minister
was deeply moved by the
story and encouraged the
old man to continue on
the journey.
Then he
prayed with him, anointed
him with oil, and
returned to the church.
Two nights
later the daughter called
to tell the minister that
her daddy had died that
afternoon.
"Did he
die in peace?" he
asked.
"Yes,
and when I left the house
about two o'clock, he
called me over to his
bedside and told me he
loved me 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 about
his death. Apparently,
just before Daddy died,
he leaned over and rested
his head on the chair
beside the bed. What do
you make of that?"
The minister
wiped a tear from his eye
and said, "I wish we
could all go like
that."
Prayer is one
of the best free gifts we
receive. There is no cost
but a lot of rewards.
Author:
Max
Lucado
Used With Permission