Once there was an old man who longed for a deeper life of prayer. After trying unsucessfully to comprehend scholarly books on the subject, he finally tried praying in a very childlike manner--by picturing Jesus in the chair next to his bed talking to him. He found that he liked it so much that he did it a couple hours every day.
When the old man fell ill, he confessed to the local priest his daily habit. "I'm careful, though," he told the priest. "If my daughter were to see me talking to the chair, she might have me shipped off to the funny farm."
The priest, profoundly moved by the story, promised not to tell his secret.
Two days later, the old man's daughter called the priest to tell him of her father's death.
"Did he die in peace?" the priest asked. The daughter assured him that he had indeed gone peacefully.
"But there was something strange," she said. "Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed."

Author:
Brennan Manning