Lord's Prayer?
The
Lord's Prayer
Our
Father, Who art in Heaven: hallowed
be Thy Name;
Thy
Kingdom come; Thy Will be done on
earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give
us this day our daily bread; and
forgive us our trespasses,
as we
forgive those who trespass against
us.
And
lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Spiritual or Religious?
Dateline: 03/11/98Due
to the overwhelming and somewhat
lively response to the question of
using the so-called "Lord's
Prayer," or "Our
Father" at meetings, we would
again like to submit the following
article from the Central Bulletin of
Cleveland, Ohio.
In Alcoholics Anonymous we
often find ourselves caught up in the
debate concerning Spirituality vs
Religion or over concerning ourselves
in so-called "New Age"
mysticism.
This, first in a series of
articles on the Lord's Prayer, was
published in February 1944. The Central
Bulletin was AA's first newsletter
and within its pages are to be found
some of the best writing's ever
relating to recovery from alcoholism.In
Alcoholics Anonymous we often find
ourselves caught up in the debate
concerning Spirituality vs Religion or
over concerning ourselves in so-called
"New Age" mysticism. We also
appear at times to get lost in the
psychobabble one often hears at
meetings. This writer would like to
offer this article from a time in AA
history when many in Alcoholics
Anonymous kept it simple.
"Our Father…"
These are crucial words. Of all the
words of the most universal of all
prayers, these two words are of
greatest importance to us.Preferably,
we anchor our lives to that something
outside that we consider greater than
ourselves, and eventually, we
recognize that something as being the
Supreme Power.
In uttering them, we turn to a Power
greater than our own. We turn from
complete reliance upon our own
egotistical natures, from exaggerated
self love and self exaltation. We
confess that our efforts to run our
entire lives in our own willful way
have led to error, frustration,
defeat, failure. We admit that the
self justification that resulted from
our errors has only deepened our
defeat.Even when we have seen the
depth of our failure, the folly of
self justification and the pitfalls of
egotism, we have discovered that our
efforts to re-establish ourselves
solely through will power have led to
more stumbling. Our wills, as one
writer has observed, are where we are
sickest. So we, out of desperation
turn to the sure Power that has always
existed and make that Power the rock
upon which we will rebuild our lives. Many
of us had long since lapsed in belief
in any Supreme Power. Most of us had
not addressed ourselves to that Power
for many years, except, perhaps, in an
occasional desperate moment. In the
realization of the position in which
we have found ourselves, we come to a
crossroads. We may continue to rely
upon our sick wills and our erring
judgements, which so often speak the
words of justification. Our experience
should show us what the result of
following along that path may be.
The Other Path
Most of us find it better to choose
the other path. Certainly all who have
succeeded in application of the AA
program have found this other path
better. We turn from our selves to
anchor our lives on something outside.
Preferably, we anchor our lives to
that something outside that we
consider greater than ourselves, and
eventually, we recognize that
something as being the Supreme Power.We
bring that Supreme Power into our
lives, and by so doing, we lift
ourselves up. We think of that Supreme
Power in our own terms, but we know
that the realm of that Power is of
realm of the Good, where the spirit
may find peace. With these words,
Our Father, we address ourselves to
the Supreme Power. In the morning when
we get up to prepare for the day's
work; in the evening when we retire
and think for a few moments about our
actions during the day that has just
past, we place ourselves in the
presence of that Supreme Power with
the words, Our Father. When occasion
arises during the day, when we are
sorely tempted, when we are angry,
when we are resentful, when we pity
ourselves, when we feel frustrated or
worried, we can shift gears and
connect ourselves with the Supreme
Power by uttering the words, Our
Father. There we will find help.
If God
Should Speak...A Different Look at
the Lord's Prayer
"Our
Father which 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
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. I
always say the
Lord's
Prayer. 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?
---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 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 really got a
problem there, you know.
And then
there's the way you spend your
money--all on
yourself.
And what about the lies you
tell?
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 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 very much
until now, but I
really
would like to cut out some of those
things. I would
like to,
you know, be really free!
---Good!
Now we're getting somewhere.
We'll work
together,
you and I. Some victories 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 out the bread.
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
praying. I'm interested in the
next part of your
prayer...(pause).
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 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 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 least you are 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!
---You
won't feel any better. You'll
feel worse.
Revenge
isn't sweet! Think how unhappy
you already are.
But I can
change all of that!
You
can? How?
---Forgive
Ann. Then I'll forgive you.
Then the hate
and sin
will be Ann's problem; not yours.
You will have
settled
your heart.
Oh,
You're right. You always are!
And more than I
want
revenge on Ann, I want to be right
with You. Ann,
I want to
be right with you...(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!
Someway, somehow,
show her
the right way.
---There,
now. Wonderful! How do
you feel?
Hmmm.
Well, 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
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?
---Don't
turn on the TV when you know the
laundry
needs to
be done and the house needs to be
cleaned. And
the time
you spend drinking coffee with your
friends,
if you
can't influence the conversation to
positive things,
perhaps
you should re-think 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 for an
escape
hatch!
I
don't understand the last part..
---Sure
you do. You've done it a lot of
times. You
get
caught in a bad situation, or 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." Do you remember
some of
those bargains you tried to make with
Me?
Yes,
Lord. And I'm ashamed. I
really am!
---Which
bargain are you remembering?
Well,
there was the night that Bill was
gone and the
children
and I were home alone. The wind
was blowing so
hard I
thought the roof would blow off any
minute. Tornado
warnings
were out. I remember praying,
"Oh 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 really am! Up
until now, I thought
that if I
just prayed the Lord's Prayer every
day then I
could do
what I pleased. I didn't expect
anything to happen
like it
did!
---Go
ahead, finish your prayer..
"For
Thine is the kingdom, 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
now 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, well,
there is no
telling
what we can do together!
Lord,
let's see what we can make of me,
okay?
---Yes,
My child. Let's see!
| 
God doesn't help those who help
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