Wow 3/2/11

Pull Up A Chair

By Pastor Donnie

I came across this article this week and it was a reminder to make sure that prayer is a top priority in my day to day living.

When Brent, a beloved longtime youth leader, became terminally ill, countless teenagers and church members visited him at home.  They all noticed that Brent mysteriously insisted on keeping an antique chair near his bedside.  One night, a church elder dropped by.  Brent was clearly struggling, with the empty chair right beside him. 

“I guess you were expecting me,” the elder said.

“No, not really,” Brent replied with embarrassment.

“When I saw the empty chair,” the elder quickly responded, “I figured you knew I was coming to visit.”

“There’s a story behind that old chair, but I’ve kept it pretty private,” Brent said.  “Sit down, and I’ll tell you why it means so much to me.”

Puzzled, the elder complied and began listening.

“As a youth leader, I knew I was supposed to be a man of prayer.  But for years, it felt like my prayers weren’t getting anywhere.  So eventually, except for when I occasionally prayed with a teenager, I just stopped.  I never shared this because I thought spiritual leaders were supposed to know how to pray.  But then a close friend told me, ‘You’re making this prayer thing too tough.  Prayer is just like talking to me.  Sit down and put an empty chair in front of you.  Picture Jesus sitting there, and then start talking to him – just like you talk to me.  Prayer is nothing more complicated than having an honest conversation with Jesus.  So I tried it,” Brent continued.  “As cheesy as it sounds, it worked.  I haven’t told many people because I didn’t think Christians were supposed to stuggle with this stuff.  But it’s really helped me.  Now I sometimes talk to Jesus in that chair for a couple of hours a day.” 

That encounter challenged the elder in his own prayer life.  Two nights later, a friend informed him that Brent had slipped into eternity.

                        “Did he seem to die in peace?” the elder asked.

                        “Yes,” the friend said.  “But there was something strange.  Apparently, just before Brent died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed.  Crazy, isn’t it? He

had a strange attraction to that old chair.”

As Christians we often do the “churchy” things but forget to just simply sit down and spend time with our Savior.  We often forget to make prayer a priority.  Why not pull up a chair and start the conversation?  It’s as simple as that.