THE CHAIR IS NOT EMPTY
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?" asked the bedridden old man.
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," he said "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
The man went on, "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 until one day four years ago."
He continued. "A friend told me told me to place an empty chair in front of me when I had something to say to God, and visualize Him sitting in the chair. I tried it and right away, I felt God listening to me as I talked. My prayer life is
now rich, and my faith strong."
The minister was deeply moved by the story and they prayed together facing the chair.
Two nights later the minister got a call. The old man died in peace, with his head on the cushion of a chair that had never been empty.
