"THE CHAIR"

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. At 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: 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Yeshua, Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Yeshua 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 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 - kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."

Do you find it hard to pray?
If you do, then take a tip from old Joe.
Pull up a chair somewhere, and just talk to God.
He is always ready to listen to you, as well as talk to you.
Give it a try, it really works, I know, I have been doing it for years!
And by the way, I also have a tip for you...
Keep with you a pad and pen, this way you can
write down all the Gems, God gives to you.
After all these years, my chest is filling up...
So why not start on yours today!

Mayim's Endnote