Our
Father Which Art in Heaven
"Our
Father which 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 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'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. 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 don't know what it means. How should
I know? It's just a 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?"
"Doing? Nothing, I guess! I just think it would
be kind of 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 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 kind of books you
read?"
"Stop picking on me! I'm 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 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 very much until
now, but I really would like to cut out some of those things. I would like
to ... you know ... be really free."
"Good ... now we're getting somewhere! We'll work together,
you and I. 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 out the bread. 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 praying.
I'm interested in the next part of your prayer ... (pause). 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
Ann?"
"See? I knew it! I knew you would bring her up! Why Lord, she's told
lies about me, spread stories about my family. She never paid back the debt
she owes me. I've sworn to get even with her!"
"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 that load of bitterness around inside,
is it?"
"No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even. Boy,
have I got some plans for that neighbor. She'll wish she had never moved
into this neighborhood."
"You
won't feel any better. You'll feel worse. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how
unhappy you already are. But I can change all that."
"You
can? How?"
"Forgive Ann. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate
and sin will be Ann's problem and not yours. You will have settled your
heart."
"Oh, you're 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's 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?"
"Hmmmm ... well, 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 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?"
"Don't 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't influence the conversation
to positive things, perhaps you should re-think the value of those friendships.
Another thing, your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for
"keeping up with." And please don't use me for an escape hatch."
"I don't
understand the last part."
"Sure
you do. You've done it a lot 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 bargain are you
remembering?"
"Well, there was the night that Bill
was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was 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'll never skip my devotions
again."
"I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise,
did you?"
"I'm
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 didn't 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 know what would bring
me glory? What would really make me happy?"
"No, but I'd like to know. I
now want to please you. I can see what a mess I've made 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 thing that would bring me glory is to have people like you truly love
me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins
are exposed and out of the way, well, there is no telling what we can do
together."
"Lord, let's
see what we can make of me, okay?"
"Yes,
let's see."
~ Author
Unknown ~
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