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Religious: The Poor Man’s Prayer
Father Tony Chakkunga
for South Peace News
A minister was passing through his church in the middle of the day and decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray. Just then the back door opened and a man came down the aisle. The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn’t shaved in a while, his shirt was shabby and his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt. He bowed his head. Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, each noon time came this chap. Each time he knelt just for a moment and he had a lunch pail in his lap. Well, the minister’s suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear. He decided to stop the man and asked him, “What are you doing here?”
The old man said he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time, for finding strength and power.
“I stay only moments, see, because the factory is so far away! As I kneel here talking to the Lord, this is what I say, ‘I just came again to tell you, Lord, since we found each other’s friendship you took away my sin. Don’t know much of how to pray, but I think about you everyday. So, Jesus, this is Jim, checking in today.’”
The minister said that was fine and told the man he was welcome to come and pray just anytime. Time to go, Jim smiled, said “Thanks” and hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar. His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart he repeated old Jim’s prayer: “I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I’ve been, since we found each other’s friendship and you took away my sin. Don’t know much of how to pray, but I think about you everyday. So, Jesus, this is Jim, checking in today.’”
Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn’t come. As more days passed without Jim, he began to worry some. At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, but he had given them a thrill. The week that Jim was with them brought changes in the ward. His smiles – a joy contagious - changed people.
The head nurse couldn’t understand why Jim was so happy when no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had. The minister stayed by his bed, he voiced the nurse’s concern: No friends came to show they cared. . .he had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile.
“The nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know, that here all the while everyday at noon He’s here, a dear friend on mine, you see, He sits right down, takes my hand, leans over and says to me, ‘I just came again to tell you, Jim, how happy I have been, since we found this friendship, and I took away your sin. Always love to hear you pray, I think about you each day, and so Jim, this is Jesus, checking in today.”
We are the children of God and we foster our relationship with God The Father through prayer. We have once again Lenten season to remind us this truth. We have to return to the goodness from our evil ways. When prophet Isaiah was aware of his sinfulness, he turned to God and his lips were touched with burning coal and his sins were forgiven. (Isaiah 6:6-7)
When Peter was concentrating on Jesus, he could walk even on the water, but when he was deviated from Jesus and looked at the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. (Mathew 14:22-23)
This has happened in our life too, when we are going away from God and concentrating on worldly things, we also start to sink down in desperation, unhappiness and gloom. God gives us freedom, so we have to be back to God and keep a good relationship with God, our life will be joyful and our presence will bring joyful moments and changes in others life, smiles, a joy contagious. . .change in our people.
This Lent will bring a resurrection in our life, the resurrection from our own selfishness, from the craziness after worldly possessions.
Next week: Pastor Pat Duffin of the Christian Centre.
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