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 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 my 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
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 I can have some
victories that 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 Sally?
See I knew it! I knew you would bring her up!
Why she's told lies about me, cheated me out
of money. She never paid back that debt she
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 O'l Sally!
She'll wish she 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.
Forgive Sally. Then I'll forgive you. Then the
hate and sin will be Sally's problem and not
yours. You may lose the money, but you will
settle your heart.
But Lord, I can't forgive Sally.
Then I can't forgive you.
Oh, you're right! You always are. And more
than I want revenge on Sally, I want to be
right with You. All right! 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. Some way, some how, show her 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.
Quit hanging around the wrong places,
watching inappropriate movies and television,
listening to sinful conversations; getting
into compromising situations. 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 woman next door saw me
backing away from the neighborhood bar. I'd
told my wife I was going to the store. I
remember telling you, "Lord, don't let her tell
my wife where I've been. I promise I'll be in
church every Sunday."
She 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 forever.
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.
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.
Yes, let's see......
©1977 Clyde Lee Herring
2938 East 84th St.
Tulsa, OK 74137
