"Our Father which art in heaven."
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~ |
Yes? |
Don't interrupt me. I'm praying
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~ |
But you called
me. |
Called you? I didn't call you.
I'm praying.
"Our Father which art in heaven
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~ |
There you did it
again. |
Did what?
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~ |
Called me. |
You said,
"Our Father which art in
heaven."
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~ |
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
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~ |
All right. Go on. |
"Hallowed be
thy name."
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~ |
Hold it. What do
you mean by that? |
By what?
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~ |
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?
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~ |
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."
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~ |
Do you really
mean that? |
Sure, why not?
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~ |
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
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~ |
Have I got
control of you? |
| Well, I go to
church |
~ |
That isn't what I
asked you. What about your
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 and what you watch on TV?
|
| Stop picking on
me! I'm just as good as the rest
of those people at 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
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~ |
So could I |
I haven't thought
about it very much until now, but
I'd really like to cut out some
of those things. I would like to,
you know, be really free
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~ |
Good. Now we're
getting somewhere. We'll work
together, you and me. Some
victories can be truly won. I'm
proud of you |
Look, Lord, I
need to finish this up here. This
is taking a lot longer than it
usually does. "Give us this
day our daily bread."
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~ |
You could cut out
the bread. It would help you lose
weight. |
| 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.
Keep praying. I'm interested in
the next part of your prayer...
|
| ~ |
Well, go on...
(Pause)
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| 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 money she
owes me. I've sworn to get even
with her?
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~ |
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.
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~ |
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
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~ |
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 get revenge against Ann,
I want to be right with you.
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~ |
(Pause)
(Sigh) |
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. Anybody
who goes around doing the things
she does to others has to be out
of it. Some way, somehow, show
her the right way
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~ |
There now!
Wonderful! How do you feel? |
Hmmm. Well, not
bad. Not bad at all. 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 prayers. 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 with
your friends, if you can't
influence the conversation to
positive things, perhaps you
should rethink the value of those
friendships. Another thing, your
neighbors and friends shouldn't
be your standard for
"keeping up." And
please don't use me as an escape
hatch
|
| I don't
understand that last part |
~ |
Sure you do.
You've done it a lot of times.
You get caught in a bad
situation. You get in 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?
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| Yes and I'm
ashamed. Lord, I really am |
~ |
Which bargain are
you remembering?
|
Well, there was
the night that my husband 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
saying, "Oh God, if you
spare us, I'll never skip my
devotions again."
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~ |
I protected you,
but you didn't keep your promise,
did you? |
I'm sorry, Lord I
really am. Up until now 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 this
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~ |
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 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, there is no
telling what we can do together
|
I did? Lord,
let's see what we can make of me, OK? |
~ |
Yes, let's see...
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