Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Yes?
Don't interupt 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. 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?
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, and wonderfull.
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 realy 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 realy 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 church.
Excuse me? I thought you were praying for My will to be done? If this 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 realy would like to cut out some of those things. I would like to, you know, be realy free.
Good! Now we're getting somewhere. We'll work together, you and I. Some victories can truely be won. I'm proud of you.
Look, Lord, I need to finish up here. This is taking a lot longer than it usualy 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, critisize me day? Here I was, doing my religious duty, and all of a sudden You break in and remind me of all of my hang-ups.
Praying is a dangerous thing. You could wind up changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to get accross 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 .........Well go on.
I'm scared to.
Scared? Of what?
I know what you'll say
Try Me and see.
Forgive us or 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, and she's 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 laest 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 wished she never moved into this neighbohood.
No you won't feel any better. Revenge isn't sweet. Think of how unhappy you already are. But I can change that.
You can? How?
Forgive Anne. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate and sin will be Anne'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 Anne, I want to be right with You.....(pause) .....(sigh).....All right. All right. I forgive her. Help her to find the right road in life, Lord. She's bound to be miserable now that I think about it. Anybody who goes around donig 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, not bad. Not bad at all. In fact I feel pretty great! You know, I don't think I'll have to go 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 just that. Just don't put yourself in a place where yo can be tempted.
What do you mean by that?
Don't turn on the T.V. 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 possitive things, perhaps you should rethink the value of those friendships. Another thing, Your neighbors and friends shouldn't be your standard for "keepng up". And please don't use me for an escape hatch.
I don't understand that last part.
Sure you do. you've done it lots of times. You get caught in a bad situation or get into trouble and then you come running to me. Then you say something like; "Lord, help me out of this mess, and I'll never do it again." Do you remember some of those bargins you've tried to make with me?
Yes. And I'm realy ashamed Lord. I realy am.
Which bargin are you remembering?
Well, there was that night Bill was gone and the children and I were home alone. The wind was blowing so hard that I thought the roof would go any minute and tornado warnings were out. I remember praying, "O 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 realy am. Up until now I thought that if I just prayed the Lord's Prayer every day that I could do whatever I liked. I didn't expect anything to happen the way it did.
Go ahead and finish your prayer.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. Now and forever. Amen
Do you know what would bring Me glory? What would realy make Me happy?
No but I'd like to know. I want to please you. I can see now what a mess I've made of my life. And I can see how great it would be to realy be one of Your folowers.
You just answered the question
I did?
Yes. The thing that would bring Me glory is to have people like you truely Love Me. And I see that happening between us. Now that some of these old sins are out of the way, well there's no telling what we can do together.
Lord, let's see what we can make of me! O.K.?
Yes. Let's see
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