Daddy’s Empty Chair.

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?” said the father. . 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,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the minister shut the door. . “I have 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 went right over my head.” . “I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” the old man continued, “until one day four years ago, my best friend said to me, “Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.” . “Here is what I suggest,” he said. . “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 old man to continue on the journey. . Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and then returned to the church. . Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon. . Did he die in peace?” he asked. . Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me how much he loved me, and kissed me on the cheek. . When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. . There was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his 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.”