A
minister passing through his church in the middle of the day, =
Decided
to pause by the altar and see who had come to =
pray.
Just
then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, =
The
minister frowned as he saw the man hadn’t shaved in a =
while.
His
shirt was kinda shabby and his coat was worn and frayed, =
The
man knelt, he bowed his head, then rose and walked =
away.
In
the days that followed, each noon time came this chap, =
Each
time he knelt just for a moment, a lunch pail in his lap. =
Well,
the minister’s suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear, =
He
decided to stop the man and ask him, ‘What are you doing =
here?’
The
old man said, he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. =
Lunchtime
was his prayer time for finding strength and power. =
‘I
stay only moments, see, because the factory is so far away; =
As
I kneel here talking to the Lord, this is kinda what I say: =
‘I
just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I’ve =
been
Since
we found each others friendship and You took away my =
sin.
Don’t
know much of how to pray, but I think about You every =
day,
So
Jesus, this is Mike checking in today.’
The
minister feeling foolish, told Mike, that was fine. =
He
told the man he was welcome to come and pray just =
anytime.
Time
to go, Mike smiled, said ‘Thanks.’ He hurried to the door. =
The
minister knelt at the altar; he’d never done it =
before.
His
cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there. =
As
the tears flowed, in his heart, he repeated old Mike’s prayer: =
‘I
just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I’ve =
been
Since
we found each others friendship and You took away my =
sin.
Don’t
know much of how to pray, but I think about You every =
day,
So
Jesus, this is me checking in today.’
Past
noon one day, the minister noticed that old Mike hadn’t come. =
As
more days passed without Mike, he began to worry some. =
At
the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. =
The
hospital staff was worried, but he’d given them a thrill. =
The
week that Mike was with them, brought changes in the ward. =
His
smiles, a joy contagious – changed people, were his reward. =
The
head nurse couldn’t understand why Mike was so glad, =
When
no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had. =
The
minister stayed by his bed, he voiced the nurse’s concern: =
No
friends came to show they cared. he had nowhere to turn. =
Looking
surprised, old Mike spoke up and with a winsome smile; =
‘The
nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know, that He’s in here all the while =
Everyday
at noon He’s here, a dear friend of mine, you see, =
He
sits right down, takes my hand, leans over and says to me: =
”I
just came again to tell you, Mike, how happy I’ve =
been
Since
we found each others friendship and I took away your =
sin.
Always
love to hear you pray, I think about You every =
day,
And
so, Mike, this is Jesus checking in today.’
[Thanks
for the forward to Rebecca]
~~
Dr
Bob Griffin
[email protected]
www.grif.net
"Jesus
Knows Me, This I Love!"