BACK PRAYERS 5'?m2f Make prayers meaningful and thoughtful (scene: a park bench or three chairs side-by-side) AMY -- (enters carrying notepad and pen, crosses to bench, looks both ways, smiles, sits, turns several pages, writes, laughs) LIZ -- (enters, points back to exit, begins to speak, but instead approaches quietly, looks over Amy's shoulder) AMY -- (detects Liz's presence, covers writing with pages) Oh, hi. What's up? LIZ -- I was just going to tell you that the afternoon session was about to start... what are you writing? AMY -- Writing? LIZ -- Yes. I saw you writing when I came out. AMY -- Oh, I was just taking notes. LIZ -- I saw the word PRAYER on your notepad. AMY -- You did? LIZ -- Yes. AMY -- Oh, well, I.... LIZ -- Listen, I know this is your first Christian retreat. So, I think I should tell you the ground rules. AMY -- Ground rules? LIZ -- Yes. What people say during prayer time is confidential. I hope you weren't planning on.... AMY -- Oh, I would never mention names... LIZ -- What were you going to mention? AMY -- (pause) Listen, I have a confession to make. LIZ -- So, this isn't your first Christian retreat? AMY -- Oh, yes, it is. I've never been to a retreat before. LIZ -- Then, what were you going to confess? AMY -- Well, I described myself as a SEEKER. LIZ -- So, you're not a seeker? AMY -- Well, I am and I'm not. You see, I'm not a seeker in the sense that I'm not an unbeliever. LIZ -- I what sense ARE you a seeker, then? AMY -- I'm a seeker looking for material for my next article. LIZ -- You're a writer. AMY -- Yes. I write for a popular magazine. I write the column on religion. LIZ -- I see. So, you came here to ridicule us. AMY -- Not really. I came here because I had never experienced a Christian retreat before and I thought there might be some material here for my column. LIZ -- And IS there? AMY -- Yes. There's a lot of material here. LIZ -- But you were smiling. AMY -- Yes. LIZ -- So, you think we're funny. AMY -- Well, some of it was kind of amusing. LIZ -- I don't know what you could have found so amusing during this last session. All we were doing was group prayer. AMY -- (represses a smile) Yes. LIZ -- And you found that funny? AMY -- Well, I think some of the people who were praying forgot who they were praying to and what he is capable of. LIZ -- For instance. AMY -- Are you sure you want to hear this? LIZ -- Yes. I didn't hear any prayers that weren't mindful of who God is. Which person in our prayer group are you referring to? AMY -- I don't know, my head was down and my eyes were closed... except when I was writing down a few key words. LIZ -- Key words. AMY -- Yes, like the person who ask the Lord to (reads) "be with us". LIZ -- "I" said that. What's wrong with that?! AMY -- There's nothing WRONG with that. LIZ -- Then, why did you write it down? AMY -- Well, David says in Psalm 139 that God is everywhere. You don't have to ask God to "BE WITH US", he's ALWAYS with us. LIZ -- And you think that's funny. AMY -- (represses a smile) I thought it was a little amusing that someone would pray for something they already have. LIZ -- What else. (points) AMY -- You're sure you want to... LIZ -- Yes, what else! AMY -- One person in the prayer circle prayed for a person who is sick.... LIZ -- That was me! AMY -- Maybe we should go in for the next session. (stands) LIZ -- (Sternly) Sit. AMY -- I'm sitting. (sits) LIZ -- I said she was going in for blood tests and I asked God to make the tests come out negative. What's wrong with that?! AMY -- Well, I suppose God could FAKE the test results. (smiles) LIZ -- That's ridiculous! I was praying for healing! AMY -- That's not what you asked for. LIZ -- What else you got! AMY -- Why don't we just... (points to exit) LIZ -- What else?! AMY -- (reads) "Thee and thou." LIZ -- What's wrong with that?! AMY -- Nothing. There's nothing WRONG with it. LIZ -- Then, why did you write it down?! AMY -- I was just musing about whether you get better results by using four-hundred-year-old English. LIZ -- That's the way Jesus prayed! AMY -- THEE and THOU are Old English words. Jesus spoke Aramaic and Greek. LIZ -- Well, then how come everybody in my church prays like that? AMY -- Superstition? LIZ -- Very funny. AMY -- It was a little humorous. That's why I wrote it down. LIZ -- What else you got? AMY -- Nobody prayed for daily bread or forgiveness of sins. LIZ -- So? AMY -- In Jesus' sample prayer.... LIZ -- You mean, the LORD'S PRAYER. AMY -- Yes, in that prayer he said "give us this day our daily bread..." LIZ -- ...We've already got bread. We've got plenty of food!... Oh. AMY -- What's the matter? LIZ -- We just take food for granted. We hardly ever think about the millions of people around the world who go to bed hungry. AMY -- Or who die of hunger. LIZ -- That's true. AMY -- But it's not very funny. I'm not sure I'll use it in my column. LIZ -- (stands, exits) You know what IS funny though? AMY -- (follows) What's that? LIZ -- I say AMEN after every prayer and I don't have a clue what it means. ©2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |