† "YES ?"

"Do not interrupt me. I am praying !"

† "BUT YOU CALLED ME."

"Called you ? I did not call you. I am praying. Our Father which art in heaven ..."

† THERE ... YOU DID IT AGAIN !"

"Did what ?"

† "CALLED ME. YOU SAID,'OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN. HERE I AM. WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND ?"

"But I did not mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for today. I always say the Lord's Prayer. It makes me feel good, kind of like getting a duty done ."

† "ALL RIGHT. GO ON."

"Hallowed be thy name ... "

† "HOLD IT ! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT ?"

"By what ?"

† "BY 'HALLOWED BE THY NAME'?"

"It means ... it means ... good grief ? I do not know what it means. How should I know ? It is just part of the prayer. By the way, what does it mean ?

† "IT MEANS HONORED ... HOLY ... WONDERFUL."

"Hey, that makes sense. I never thought about what 'hallowed' meant before. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

† "DO YOU REAllY MEAN THAT ?"

"Sure, why not ?"

† "WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT ?"

"Well, I go to church."

† "THAT IS NOT WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT YOUR BAD TEMPER ? YOU HAVE REALLY GOT A PROBLEM THERE, YOU KNOW. AND THEN THERE IS THE WAY YOU SPEND Y OUR MONEY ... ALL ON YOURSELF. AND WHAT ABOUT THE KIND OF BOOKS YOU READ ?"

"Stop picking on me ! I am just as good as some of the rest of those people at the church."

† "EXCUSE ME. I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR MY WILL TO BE DONE. IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL START WITH THE ONES WHO ARE PRAYING FOR IT ... LIKE YOU, FOR EXAMPLE."

Oh all right. I guess I do have some hang-ups. Now that you mention it, I could probably name some others. "

† "SO COULD I."

"I have not thought about it very much until now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to ... you know ...be really cut free."

† "GOOD ... NOW WE ARE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE WILL WORK TOGETHER, YOU AND I. SOME VICTORIES CAN TRULY BE WON. I AM PROUD OF YOU !"

"Look,, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usually does. give us his day, our daily bread."

† "YOU NEED TO CUT OUT THE BREAD. YOU ARE OVERWEIGHT AS IT IS."

"Hey, wait a minute ! What is this ... 'Criticize me day "' Here I was doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my hangups."

† "PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU COULD WIND UP CHANGED, YOU KNOW. THAT IS WHAT I AM TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO YOUR. YOU CALLED ME, AND HERE I AM. IT IS TOO LATE TO STOP NOW. KEEP PRAYING. I AM INTERESTED IN THE NEXT PART OF YOUR PRAYER ... {PAUSE} . WELL ... GO ON !"

"I am scared to."

† "SCARED OF WHAT ?"

"I know what You will say."

† "TRY ME AND SEE."

"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."

† "WHAT ABOUT ANN ?"

See ? I knew it ! I new You would bring her up ! Why Lord, she has told lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt she owes me. I have sworn to get even with her !"

† "BUT YOUR PRAYER ? WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRAYER ?"

"I did not mean it."

† "WELL, AT LEAST YOU ARE HONEST. BUT IT IS NOT MUCH FUN CARRYING THAT LOAD OF BITTERNESS AROUND INSIDE, IS IT ?

"No, but I will feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I got some plans for that neighbor. She will wish she had never moved into his neighborhood."

† "YOU WILL NOT FEEL ANY BETTER. YOU WILL FEEL WORSE. REVENGE IS NOT SWEET. THINK OF HOW UNHAPPY YOU ALEADY ARE. BUT I CAN CHANGE ALL THAT"

"You can ? How ?

† "FORGIVE ANN. THEN I WILL FORGIVE YOU. THEN THE HATE AND SIN WILL BE ANN'S PROBLEM AND NOT YOURS. YOU WILL HAVE SETTLED YOUR HEART."

Oh, you are right. You always are. And more than I want to revenge Ann, I want to be right with you.Ann, I want to be right with you ... {pause} ... {sigh} . Alright ! Alright !I forgive her ! Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She is bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around doing the things she does to others has to be out of it. Someway, somehow, show her the right way.

"THERE NOW ! WONDERFUL ! HOW DO YOU FEEL ?"

"Hummmmm... well, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact, I feel pretty great ! You know, I do not think I will have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can remember. Maybe I will not be so tired from now on because I am not getting any rest."

† "YOU ARE NOT THROUGH WITH YOUR PRAYER, GO ON ."

"Oh, all right. ANd lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

† "GOOD ! GOOD ! I WILL DO THAT. JUST DO NOT PUT YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE TEMPTED."

"What do you mean by that ?"

† "DO NOT TURN ON THE TV WHEN YOU KNOW THE LAUNDRY NEEDS TO BE DONE AND THE HOUSE NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP. ALSO, ABOUT THE TIME YOU SPEND HAVING COFFEE WITH YOUR FRIENDS ... IF YOU CAN NOT INFLUENCE THE CONVERSATION TO POSITIVE THINGS, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD RE-THINK THE VALUE OF THOSE FRIENDSHIPS . ANOTHER THING, YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS SHULD NOT BE THE STANDARD FOR 'KEEPING UP WITH'. AND PLEASE DO NOT USE ME FOR AN ESCAPE HATCH."

I do not understand the last part."

† "SURE YOU DO. YOU HAVE DONE IT A LOT OF T IMES. YOU GET CAUGHT IN A BAD SITUATION. YOU GET INTO TROUBLE AND THEN YOU COME RUNNING TO ME. 'LORD, HELP ME OUT OF THIS MESS, AND I PROMISE YOU I WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN !' YOU REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE BARGAINS YOU TRIED TO MAKE WITH ME ?"

"Yes and I am ashamed, Lord. I really am ! "

† "WHICH BARGAIN ARE YOU REMEMBERING ?"

"Well, there was the night Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind ws blowing so hard I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, 'Oh God, if you spare us, I will never skip my devotions again."

† "I PROTECTED YOU, BUT YOU DID NOT KEEP YOUR PROMISE, DID YOU ?"

"I am sorry Lord. I really am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day, then I could do what I liked. I did not expect anything to happen like it did."

† "GO AHEAD AND FINISH YOUR PRAYER."

"For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, AMEN ."

† "DO YOU WANT TO BRING ME GLORY ? WHAT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPPY ?

"No, but I would like to know. I now want to please you I can see what a mess I have made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to be one of your followers."

† "YOU JUST ANSWERED THE QUESTION."

"I did ?"

† "YES. THE THING THAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY IS TO HAVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRULY LOVE ME . AND I SEE THAT HAPPENING BETWEEN US. NOW THA SOME OF THOSE OLD SINS ARE EXPOSED AND OUT OF THE WAY, WELL, THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT WE CAN DO TOGETHER !"

"LORD, LET US SEE WHAT WE CAN MAKE OF ME ! OKAY ?

"YES, LET US SEE !"