daddy's empty chair
@cradleOFjheffd (920)
Philippines
February 24, 2007 6:51am CST
A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray
with her father.
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 saw the
empty chair and 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 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 will 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, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over
to
his bedside, 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.
I asked God for water, * He gave me an ocean.
I asked God for a flower, * He gave me a garden.
I asked God for a friend, * He gave me all of YOU...
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.
1 person likes this
1 response
@gberlin (3836)
•
24 Feb 07
I like this story very much. Thanks for sharing it. This will be another story that I plan on sharing with my friends and family. I did not always feel that I could talk to God like I talk to a friend but the more I read the Bible the more I know that He is my friend and I can talk to Him like I would talk to a friend. Sometimes others try to make religion so hard. This story points out how easy it is to communicate with God.