The Chair

Leslie Weatherhead tells the story of an old Scot who was ill. When his minister came to call, he noticed a chair pulled close to the bed and said, "Well Donald, I see I'm not your first visitor of the day."

The old man looked up, puzzled, then followed his minister's gaze to the chair.

"Ah," he said. "Let me tell you about that chair. many hyears ago, i was finding it difficult to pray. One day I shared my problem with my pastor, and he told me not to worry about kneeling or placing myself in some pious posture. Instead he said, 'just sit down, put a chair opposite you, and imagine Jesus sitting in it. Just talk to Him as you would a friend.'" Donald concluded, "That's what I've been doing ever since."

The next day the old man's daughter called their minister to report that her father had died. "I had just gone to lie down for an hour or two, because he seemed to be sleeping comfortably. When I came back, he had passed away." she paused. "he hadn't moved . . . except that his hand was on the empty chair beside his bed."

The minister smiled to himself. "That isn't so strange," he replied. "I understand."

--Tim Hansel, Dancin' Toward the Dawn (Quoted from James S. Hewitt, Illustrations Unlimited).

Dancin' Toward the Dawn

The following is from Dancin' Toward the Dawn by Tim Hansel:

To show the splendor of the newborn Savior in the church Christmas pageant, an electric light bulb was hidden in the manger. All the stage lights were to be turned off so only the brightness of the manger could be seen, but the boy who controlled the lights got confused, and suddenly all the lights went out. It was a fairly tense moment broken by a little shepherd's loud whisper, "Hey, you just switched off Jesus!"

I switch off Jesus much more than I am willing to admit. If you and I were to switch Jesus back on in our lives, what would He be saying to us? Prayer is listening to Him, not just telling Him what you need. In fact, it's finding out what He needs and wants from you, where He can use you to fill a need or create a bridge where there is a gap of loneliness.

But you say, "I'm lonely, too. Why doesn't someone come to me?" It is interesting that the passage in Isaiah doesn't say "Here I am, find me," nor does it say "fill my needs." The Scriptures are clear. The correct response is, "Here I am, send me" (Isaiah 6:8).

Take the next tiny step. Psalm 18:28 says, "The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." As he does so, be willing to take the steps that He has prepared for you. Allow God to direct you and to be fully Himself in your life.