|
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
yeah,
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.'
I
abandoned
any
attempt
at
prayer,'
the
woman
continued,
'until
one
day
four
years
ago;
my
best
friend
said
to
me,
'Betty,
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
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
mother
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
Mother
died,
She
leaned
over
and
rested
her
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
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.
|
