|
Our Father who art in Heaven...
"Our Father who art in Heaven..."
" YES?"
"Don't interrupt me. I'm praying...
"BUT YOU CALLED ME."
"Called you? I didn't call you. I'm praying. Our Father who art in Heaven..."
"THERE YOU DID IT AGAIN."
"Did What?"
"CALLED ME. YOU SAID, "OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN...". HERE
AM I. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?"
"But I didn't mean anything by it. I was, you know, just saying my prayers for the day.
I always say the Lord's Prayer. makes me feel good, kind of like getting my duty done. "
"ALL RIGHT. GO ON."
"Hallowed by thy name."
"HOLD IT. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"
"By what?"
"BY "HALLOWED BE THY NAME."
"It means...it means...good grief, I don't know what it means. How should
I know? Its 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 GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?"
"Doing? Nothing, I guess. I just think it would be neat if you
got control of everything down here like you have up there."
"HAVE I GOT CONTROL OF YOU?"
"Well, I go to church."
"THAT ISN'T WHAT I ASKED YOU. WHAT ABOUT THAT HABIT
OF LUST YOU HAVE? AND YOUR BAD TEMPER? YOU'VE REALLY
GOT A PROBLEM THERE, YOU KNOW. AND THEN THERE'S THE
WAY YOU SPEND YOUR MONEY...ALL ON YOURSELF. AND WHAT
ABOUT THE KINDS OF BOOKS YOU READ?"
"Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as some of the rest of those
phonies at the church."
"EXCUSE ME...I THOUGHT YOU WERE PRAYING FOR MY
WILL TO BE DONE. IF THAT IS TO HAPPEN, IT WILL HAVE TO
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 haven't thought about it until now, but I really would like to cut
out some of those things. I'd like to, you know, be really free."
"GOOD, NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. WE'LL WORK
TOGETHER...YOU AND ME. NOW, SOME VICTORIES CAN TRULY
BE WON. I'M PROUD OF YOU."
"Look Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it
usually does...Give us this day our daily bread."
"YOU NEED TO CUT DOWN ON THE BREAD TOO...YOU'RE 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 hang- ups."
"PRAYING IS A DANGEROUS THING. YOU COULD WIND UP CHANGED
YOU KNOW. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO YOU. YOU
CALLED ME, AND HERE I AM. IT'S TOO LATE TO STOP NOW. KEEP ON
PRAYING. I'M INTERESTED IN THE NEXT PART OF YOUR PRAYER.
WELL, GO ON."
"I'm scared to."
"SCARED? OF WHAT? I KNOW WHAT YOU'LL SAY. TRY ME AND SEE."
"Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us."
"WHAT ABOUT JOE?"
"See, I knew it? I knew you would bring him up! Why he's told lies about me, cheated
me out of money... He never paid back that debt he owes me. I've sworn to get even."
"BUT YOUR PRAYER...WHAT ABOUT YOUR PRAYER?"
"I didn't mean it."
"WELL, AT LEAST YOU'RE HONEST. BUT IT'S NOT MUCH FUN CARRYING
THE LOAD OF BITTERNESS AROUND INSIDE, IS IT?"
"No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy, have I made some plans for
ol' Joe. He'll wish he never did me any harm."
"YOU WON'T FEEL ANY BETTER. YOU'LL FEEL WORSE. REVENGE ISN'T
SWEET. THINK OF HOW UNHAPPY YOU ARE ALREADY. BUT I CAN CHANGE
ALL THAT."
"You can? How?"
"FORGIVE JOE. THEN I'LL FORGIVE YOU. THEN THE HATE AND SIN WILL
BE JOE'S PROBLEM AND NOT YOURS...YOU MAY LOSE THE MONEY, BUT
YOU WILL SETTLE YOUR HEART."
"But Lord, I can't forgive Joe."
"THEN I CAN'T FORGIVE YOU."
"Oh, you're right! You always are. And more than I want revenge on Joe, I want to
be right with you... All right! I forgive him. Help him to find the right road in life,
Lord. He's bound to be awfully miserable, now that I think about it. Some way,
somehow, show him the right way."
"THERE NOW! HOW DO YOU FEEL?"
"Hmmm....not bad. Not bad at all, In fact I feel pretty great. You know, I don't think
I'll have to go to bed uptight tonight for the first time since I can't remember. Maybe
I won't be so tired from now on because I'm not getting enough rest."
"YOU'RE NOT THROUGH WITH YOUR PRAYER...GO ON."
"Oh, All right...And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
"GOOD...GOOD. I'LL DO THAT. JUST DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN A
PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BE TEMPTED."
"What do you mean by that?"
"QUIT HANGING AROUND THE WRONG PLACES, WATCHING
INAPPROPRIATE MOVIES AND TELEVISION, LISTENING TO SINFUL
CONVERSATIONS; HANGING AROUND THE PLACES WHERE PLAYBOY
AND PLAYGIRL ARE SOLD. CHANGE SOME OF YOUR FRIENDSHIPS.
SOME OF YOUR SO-CALLED FRIENDS ARE BEGINNING TO GET TO
YOU. THEY'LL HAVE YOU COMPLETELY INVOLVED IN WRONG
THINGS BEFORE LONG. DON'T BE FOOLED. THEY ADVERTISE THEY'RE
HAVING FUN, BUT FOR YOU IT WOULD BE RUIN. DON'T USE ME FOR
AN ESCAPE HATCH."
"I don't understand."
"SURE, YOU DO, YOU'VE DONE IT...LOTS OF TIMES. 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'LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. YOU REMEMBER SOME OF
THOSE BARGAINS YOU TRIED TO MAKE WITH ME?"
"Yes, and I'm ashamed Lord. I really am."
"WHICH BARGAINS ARE YOU REMEMBERING?"
"Well, when the guy next door saw me backing away from the neighborhood
bar... I told my wife I was going to the store... I remember telling you, "Lord,
don't let him tell her where I've been. I promise I'll be in church every Sunday."
"HE DIDN'T TELL YOUR WIFE, BUT YOU DIDN'T KEEP YOUR
PROMISE, DID YOU?"
"I'm sorry Lord, I really am. Up until now I thought if I just prayed the Lord's
prayer everyday, then I could do what I liked. I didn't expect anything to
happen like it did."
"GO AHEAD, FINISH YOUR PRAYER."
"Oh yes...For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory forever
and ever. Amen."
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY? WHAT WOULD
MAKE ME REALLY HAPPY?"
"No, but I'd like to know. I want to please you. I can see what a mess I've made
out of my life, and I can see how great it would be to really be one of your followers."
"YOU JUST ANSWERED THE QUESTION."
"I did?"
"YES, THE ONE THING THAT WOULD BRING ME GLORY IS TO HAVE
PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRULY LOVE ME. AND I CAN SEE THAT HAPPENING
BETWEEN US. NOW THAT SOME OF THESE OLD SINS ARE EXPOSED AND
OUT OF THE WAY...WELL, THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT WE CAN DO
TOGETHER."
"Lord, let's see what we can make of me."
"OK? YES, LET'S SEE."
Contributed by Tim and Lori
|
