The Lord’s Prayer (Dramatic reading)
Cast:
Christian (on stage), God (off stage)
Christian
(seated centre of rostrum with table and Bible): I was in a hurry this morning so I
didn’t get an opportunity to fulfil my mandatory getting-out-of-bed prayer. So as
I’ve got a couple of moments, I’ll just fire up a quick one now. I know what I’ll
do, I’ll say the Lord’s Prayer. That’ll stop me loosing any Brownie points in
Heaven. I’m sure that I got a brownie point for not cussing when I stubbed my
toe this morning when I was in a hurry. I’d hate to lose points just because
I’m still in a hurry. “Our Father, who...
God (off stage): Yes?
Christian:
Hey! Don't interrupt me! I'm praying.
God:
But you called me.
Christian:
Called you? I didn't call you. I was praying. Our Father who art in heaven...
God:
There, you did it again.
Christian:
Did what?
God:
Called me. You said, "Our Father who art in
heaven." Here I am. What's on your mind?
Christian:
Oh! So You’re God? But I didn't mean anything by
it. I was, you know, just saying my prayer for today. You know, just to fulfil
my Christian duty and all. I mean, the pastor keeps emphasising the importance
of prayer or Bible study or something like that. Well I never seem to have time
for Bible study, so I’m praying.
God:
All right. Go on.
Christian:
Hallowed be
thy name...
God:
Hold it! What do you mean by that?
Christian:
By what?
God:
By "hallowed be thy name"?
Christian:
It means...it means.... Goodness me! How should I
know what it means? It's just part of the prayer. Someone in the Bible wrote
it, I think. (pause) By the way, what does it mean?
God:
It means honoured, holy, sacred, wonderful.
Christian:
Ah, that makes sense. I never thought about what
hallowed meant before. Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
God:
Do you really mean that?
Christian: Mean what?
God:
Thy kingdom come
Christian: Sure. I mean, I want to go to Heaven, don’t I.
God:
But you asked for my kingdom to come to you, not
for you to go to it.
Christian: Aren’t they the same thing?
God:
No. My kingdom on earth is not Heaven. It is found
in two places. In the hearts of those who believe, and where two or three are
gathered in my Son’s name. My Son Jesus is the gateway, the door of the
kingdom. We are the source of our forgiveness and wholeness. As people come to
honour us, so they become members of our kingdom – so try again.
Christian:
Thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on earth as it is in haven.
God:
Do you really mean that part about my will being
done on earth as it is in Heaven?
Christian:
Of course! Why not?
God:
In heaven your heavenly Father's will is done
gladly, willingly, completely and joyfully. What are you going to do about it?
Christian:
Me? Do? Nothing, I suppose. I just think it would
be rather snazzy if you took control of things down here the way you have up
there.
God:
Have I got control of you?
Christian:
Well, I come to church and Sabbath School
God:
That isn't what I asked you. What about that bad
temper? You've really got a problem there you know!
Christian:
Stop picking on me! I'm just as good as everybody
else in church!
God:
Excuse me, but 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.
Christian:
Oh, all right! I guess I do have a few hang-ups.
Now that you mention it, I probably could name some others.
God:
So could I.
Christian:
I haven't thought about it much until now, but I
really would like to cut out some of those things. I really would like to know
how to be free.
God:
Good! Now we're getting somewhere! We'll work
together, you and I. Some real victories can be won. I'm proud of you!
Christian:
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.
God:
Sometimes when you come to me, you come for the
gifts in my hand. More important than
the gifts in my hand is my hand itself. And
it’s not the bread I’m worried about; it’s what you're putting on it. Should
I give you bread when you are so unwilling to share what you already have? If I
fulfil your request and give you physical and spiritual bread will you
willingly share it?
Christian:
Hey! Wait a minute! What is this? Here I am doing
my religious duty and all of a sudden you break in and remind me of all my
faults!
God:
Praying is a dangerous thing. You could end up
changed, you know. That's what I'm trying to bring 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. (Pause) Well. go on!
Christian:
I'm scared to...
God:
Scared of what?
Christian:
I know what you'll say!
God:
Try me and see.
Christian:
Forgive us
our sins as we also have forgiven those that sin against us.
God:
What about John?
Christian:
See! I knew you would bring him up! Why, Lord he
told lies about me, and he cheated me out of some money. I swear that I'll get
even with him.
God:
But your prayer. What about your prayer?
Christian:
I didn't mean that little bit.
God:
Well, at least you're being honest! But it's not
much fun carrying around that load of bitterness inside, is it?
Christian:
No, but I'll feel better as soon as I get even! Boy
have I got some plans for John!
God:
You won't feel any better. You'll feel worse.
Revenge isn't sweet. When a person seeks revenge he digs two graves. When you
seek revenge, you don't get even, you get odder. Think of how unhappy you
really are. But I'll change all that.
Christian:
You will? How?
God:
Forgive John. Then I'll forgive you. Then the hate
and sin will be John's problem and not yours. You may lose the money, but you
will have settled your heart.
Christian:
Oh, you're right. You always are. And, more than I
want to get revenge against John, I want to be right with you. But ... (Pause)
... (Sigh) ... All right. I forgive him. Help him to find the right road in
life, Lord. He's bound to be awfully miserable now that I think about it.
Anybody who goes around doing the things he does to others has to be hurting.
Someway, somehow, show him the right way.
God:
There now! Wonderful! How do you feel?
Christian: "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."
God: You're not through with your prayers.
Go on.
Christian: And lead us not into
temptation …
God:
You mean that too? You actually want me to help you
not to go to places you’ve planned to go to, to actually prevent you from
visiting that particular website (you know the one I mean); you mean you want
me to lead you on a new path? Do you want my Holy Spirit to sound a buzzer? True,
it is better to shun the bait than struggle in the snare, but temptation is my
character development curriculum. Temptation is not meant to make you fail; it
is meant to confront you with a situation out of which you emerge stronger than
you were. Temptation is to provoke you to look upward to me. Temptation is not
the penalty for being human; it is the glory of humanity because you cannot say
‘no’ to temptation without saying ‘yes’ to something far better. You need to
make some choices for yourself where you will go or not go because you can’t
really keep your eye on temptation while praying not to be led into it.
Christian:
Can I just finish now?
God:
Go ahead.
Christian: But deliver us from evil.
God:
Is that the same as “Lead us not into temptation”?
Christian:
I don’t know.
God:
Temptation is not sin. My Son was tempted but never
sinned. To deliver from evil is to receive my help for you not to sin again
once I have forgiven you. If you ask for forgiveness and then deliberately go
out and sin that same sin again, then you have been delivered into evil, not
from it. It is much easier to repent of sins that you have committed than to
repent of those you intend to commit. I will do as you have asked. Just don't
put yourself in a place where you can be tempted.
Christian:
"What do you mean by that?"
God:
Don't turn the TV on when you know there are chores
to be done or others need your time. 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
neighbours and friends shouldn't be your standard for the accumulation of
things. And please don't use me as an escape hatch.
Christian:
I don't understand that last part.
God:
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 I'll never do it again.’ You
remember some of those bargains you tried to make with me?
Christian:
Yes, and I'm ashamed, Lord, I really am.
God:
Which bargain are you remembering?
Christian:
Well, there was the night that the driver of the
bus I was in had a heart attack while driving and I remember saying, 'Oh God,
if you spare us, I'll never skip my devotions again.’
God:
I protected you, but you didn't keep your promise,
did you?
Christian: 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 this.
God:
Both rivers and people become crooked by following
the line of least resistance. Go ahead and finish your prayer.
Christian: For thine is the kingdom, the
power and the glory…
God:
Do you know what would bring me glory? What would
really make me happy?
Christian: "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."
God:
You just answered the question.
Christian: I did?"
God:
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. Now finish your prayer.
Christian: Prayer: For ever and ever. AMEN . Thank goodness that’s over.
God:
Is it?
Christian: Now what?
God:
Praying is not a ticket to Heaven -- that ticket
comes accepting and believing on me. That ticket has already been paid for by
the sacrifice of my Son. In response, I desire of you sincerity in prayer..
Success in prayer is not based on locution – by the right choice of words; nor
by arithmetic - how many they are; nor rhetoric - how eloquent they may be; nor
magnitude - how long they are; nor is successful prayer based on logic - how
argumentative your prayers are; nor the method of your prayers, how orderly
they may be; nor is it based on chronology - how frequent they are; nor articulation
– how clearly enunciated they are; nor solemnity – how ceremonial they may
appear; nor by perfervidity – how passionate your emotions, nor by the use of archaic
terms such as ‘thee’ and ‘thou’; nor by the person praying being the leader of
a religious order; but success in prayer is based solely on sincerity. So next
time, instead of just reciting the Lord’s Prayer, pray it, then live it.
Christian: Thank you, Father God. Amen.
[A note regarding this reading. I heard
something similar to this presented in a programme a number of years ago and at
the time lodged it into my memory for possible future use. A week ago I sat
down and wrote it out to the best of my recall as I had no written copy. I sat
back and considered what I had written and felt that it was more entertainment
than educative. So I set about re-writing it to use it as a more direct
teaching tool. I have since found that a certain Mathew Pole claims to have
written it in 2005. However it was in the late 1990s that I heard it presented.
So I cannot say what the original source was. I take responsibility for this
expanded version. (Lionel Hartley)]
