This is just a story I read, but it makes a worthy point: do I treat Jesus
like He’s really with me?
A woman’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her
mother. When the minister arrived, he found the woman lying in bed with her
head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside her bed. The
minister assumed that the woman had been informed of his visit.
“I guess you were expecting me”, he said. “No, who are you?’ said the
mother. The minister told her his name and then remarked, “I saw the empty
chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up.”
“Oh yes, the chair,” said the bedridden woman. “Would you mind closing the
door?” Puzzled, the minister shut the door. “I have never told anyone this,
not even my daughter,” said the woman. “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.”
She continued, “I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day four years
ago, my best friend said to me, ‘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. Then
just speak to him in the same way you’re doing with me right now.”
She said “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 woman to
continue on the journey. Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil, and
returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her mama had
died that afternoon.
“Did she die in peace?” he asked.
“Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, she called me over to her
bedside, told me she loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back
from the store an hour later, I found her. But there was something strange
about her death. Apparently, just before Mom died, she leaned over and
rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?” the
daughter inquired.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin
[email protected] www.grif.net
“Jesus Knows Me, This I Love!”