The Lord's Prayer
Our Father who 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 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?
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 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 debts
as we forgive our debtors.
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.
You can?
How?
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, somehow, 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.
What do you mean by that?
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 dont' 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 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. br>
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...
(c)1977 Clyde Lee Herring
2938 East 84th St.
Tulsa, OK 74137