Empty Chair Faith
A seasoned youth leader named Brent, found himself terminally ill with cancer.
Because he was so respected and loved by his students and church, countless guests came to his home to visit him, but everyone visiting him noticed an odd thing; the youth leader had an old, antique chair which he insisted on keeping close to his bedside. The chair's importance seemed pretty mysterious to all Brent's guests.
Late one night, as Brent was fighting for breath, one of the elders dropped by for a visit. When he arrived, he found Brent lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and the old, empty chair right beside him.
"I guess you were expecting me," the elder said kindly. "No, not really," the youth leader replied with embarrassment.
"Please don't be embarrassed," the elder responded. "When I saw the empty chair, I just figured you knew I was coming to visit for a while."
"Oh, yeah...the chair," the youth leader said quietly. "There's a story behind this chair, but I've never told anyone about it. Why don't you shut the door and I'll tell you why this old chair is so important to me." Puzzled, the elder shut the door and sat down to hear what Brent was going to share.
"You see, as a youth leader I knew I was supposed to be a man of prayer, but for years of my ministry, I really struggled to feel like my prayers were getting anywhere. So eventually, except for when I occasionally prayed with a kid, I just stopped praying. I never told anyone because spiritual leaders are supposed to know how to pray."
Then about 6 months ago, a close friend said, "Brent, you're making this prayer thing too tough. Prayer is just like talking to me. So, I've got a suggestion for you. Why don't you sit down and put an empty chair in front of you. By faith, picture Jesus sitting in that chair 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 quietly confided in the elder. "And cheesy as it sounds, it worked. I haven't told many other people because I don't think Christian leaders are supposed to struggle with this stuff, but it's really helped me out. Now that the cancer has gotten pretty bad, I sometimes talk to Jesus in that chair for a couple of hours a day."
The elder was so moved with the honesty of the youth leader that he was personally challenged in his own personal prayer life. Two nights later, the elder was told that the youth leader had slipped into eternity early that evening.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" the elder asked. "Yes," Brent's friend answered. "When I left the house around four o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his old jokes, and laughed as I walked out of the room. When I came back from an errand about an hour later, I found him dead, but there was something strange. In fact, something really pretty unusual. Apparently, just before Brent died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed. Crazy, isn't it? Somehow he had a strange attraction to that old chair."
As youth leaders, it's really easy to "talk about prayer" and yet rarely make personal time to pray ourselves. So maybe this is your reminder from Jesus that He is lonely for you. Why don't you pull up a chair and start the conversation?
A seasoned youth leader named Brent, found himself terminally ill with cancer.
Because he was so respected and loved by his students and church, countless guests came to his home to visit him, but everyone visiting him noticed an odd thing; the youth leader had an old, antique chair which he insisted on keeping close to his bedside. The chair's importance seemed pretty mysterious to all Brent's guests.
Late one night, as Brent was fighting for breath, one of the elders dropped by for a visit. When he arrived, he found Brent lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and the old, empty chair right beside him.
"I guess you were expecting me," the elder said kindly. "No, not really," the youth leader replied with embarrassment.
"Please don't be embarrassed," the elder responded. "When I saw the empty chair, I just figured you knew I was coming to visit for a while."
"Oh, yeah...the chair," the youth leader said quietly. "There's a story behind this chair, but I've never told anyone about it. Why don't you shut the door and I'll tell you why this old chair is so important to me." Puzzled, the elder shut the door and sat down to hear what Brent was going to share.
"You see, as a youth leader I knew I was supposed to be a man of prayer, but for years of my ministry, I really struggled to feel like my prayers were getting anywhere. So eventually, except for when I occasionally prayed with a kid, I just stopped praying. I never told anyone because spiritual leaders are supposed to know how to pray."
Then about 6 months ago, a close friend said, "Brent, you're making this prayer thing too tough. Prayer is just like talking to me. So, I've got a suggestion for you. Why don't you sit down and put an empty chair in front of you. By faith, picture Jesus sitting in that chair 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 quietly confided in the elder. "And cheesy as it sounds, it worked. I haven't told many other people because I don't think Christian leaders are supposed to struggle with this stuff, but it's really helped me out. Now that the cancer has gotten pretty bad, I sometimes talk to Jesus in that chair for a couple of hours a day."
The elder was so moved with the honesty of the youth leader that he was personally challenged in his own personal prayer life. Two nights later, the elder was told that the youth leader had slipped into eternity early that evening.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" the elder asked. "Yes," Brent's friend answered. "When I left the house around four o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his old jokes, and laughed as I walked out of the room. When I came back from an errand about an hour later, I found him dead, but there was something strange. In fact, something really pretty unusual. Apparently, just before Brent died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed. Crazy, isn't it? Somehow he had a strange attraction to that old chair."
As youth leaders, it's really easy to "talk about prayer" and yet rarely make personal time to pray ourselves. So maybe this is your reminder from Jesus that He is lonely for you. Why don't you pull up a chair and start the conversation?
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