The Bible object book

by C. H. Woolston

In this chapter the truths of the Lord's Prayer are made to shine forth. This is done by the use of a number of common candles.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet," says the old true Book. We will turn on the light of the Lord's Prayer and let it shine into our hearts so that we may see God's truth.

1. "Our Father." Here introduce a tall white candle. Let this stand for the words "Our Father." Highest and tallest of them all. "The Higher Light." God is light. The Light of the World and the ages. Have this light burning before the meeting opens. Don't light it as a part of the exercise. This light never had a beginning. How dark this world would be if this light should grow dim or go out! But God is Our Father and he has promised he will never leave us alone, and in this prayer we are told to ask him for the things we need. A little chap was busy with his lessons, and they proved so hard for him to study that the tears began to flow down his little cheeks. His father noticed this and came over and sat by his side and helped him through with the hard part of the lesson. The father said, "Now crying did not help you, my son, did it?" The little fellow replied, "No, it did not help me, but it brought to my side some one who did." Prayer brings to our side "Our Father in heaven," and he can and will help us.

2. "Who art in heaven." For this sentence secure a blue candle which reminds us of the blue heavens above us. God is beyond the blue, but by his light is everywhere, and from his throne in heaven is ever watching us. My own dear mother was a little old-fashioned mother, and from her window watched her children play in the backyard. Her watchful eye was ever on us, and if some wild boy of the street jumped over the fence and annoyed us, Mother saw him first, and came down-stairs into the yard, and the bad boy soon disappeared. My little brothers and myself were always glad for mother's watchful eye from the upper window. So our Father looks down from his window in heaven, and we are safe and happy because Father is looking down upon us.

3. "Hallowed be thy name." For this sentence secure a green candle. Green is the most enduring of colors. The cedar and pine are green all the year. Winter and summer it shows forth its green just the same. Green is the everlasting color. The name of God is the name "Everlasting." It will endure forever; so long as this old earth shall stand his name will be spoken, and by human hearts be supremely loved. When this world has passed away in the life of the ages his name will also be the highest and best of all. In this prayer we are taught to reverence this eternal name. This is the only part of the prayer where God seems to be thinking about himself, and asks his followers to protect and revere his name. A little girl, one night, closed her little prayer by saying, "and please, dear God, take good care of yourself." She was thinking of God, so this prayer wants us to think of his name and keep it holy.

4. "Thy kingdom come." These words are represented by a purple candle. Purple is the royal color. The robes of the king are in purple. The decorations of the throne are all in this majestic color. Purple is the kingdom color. May God hasten the coming of the Royal Purple Day. You can help God to answer this prayer by trying to bring in his kingdom. Whenever you help one another, and are kind to each other, whenever you are truthful and faithful to God, whenever you let your light shine, then you are helping God to bring in his kingdom.

5. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This sentence can be represented by a brown candle representing the color of the earth, the brown ground of the world. If so desired, another blue candle may be introduced to represent, as in a former instance, the blue of the heavens. It would be best, if possible, to get a candlestick holding two candles to represent this truth. This should be done so the two blue candles may not be confused one with the other. The truth of God's will being done on earth as perfectly as in heaven is the cardinal truth of this sentence. A little boy who wanted to go out to the park with his mother, noticed it had begun to rain, and soon it was raining very hard. He turned to his mother and said, "Do you suppose God wanted it to rain?" His mother replied, "God knew best, and so sent the rain." The little boy replied, "I think it would be safe to let him have his own way." I think the little fellow was right. God knows best. His will must be done.

6. "Give us this day our daily bread." Represent these words by a yellow candle, yellow standing for the color of the golden grain from which we make our bread. This is a prayer for physical needs. The Greek word for bread means "food," so this is a prayer for all our temporal needs to sustain this present body, which is the present home of the soul. God wants to feed the world. He likes to give because he loves us. God also gave us the spiritual bread, the bread of life, which is his Son, and so supplies all our spiritual needs. Trust God, live simply, work honestly, and verily thou shalt be fed; so pray daily, "Give us this day our daily bread."

7. "Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors." This sentence is represented by a silver candle, which is the color of the coin by which we pay our debts. This is a hard prayer for some of us to say, when we remember how some evil people have hurt us. This prayer tells us to forgive, because that is what God does when people by their wicked deeds hurt him. Put down the number 490, and as you look at it, what do you think it means? It contains a commandment of Jesus. This is just what Jesus means by that figure. It tells us how many times we are to forgive one another. He says we are to forgive seventy times seven. That gives us the figure 490. This prayer teaches us to forgive our enemy four hundred and ninety times, and by that time God will soften the heart of our foe, and he will no longer be an enemy.

8. "Lead us not into temptation." Here we introduce a red candle, red standing for sin, into which temptation, if we yield to it, is sure to lead us. In this prayer we are to pray to be delivered from sin. We must all have some kind of temptation, God had one Son without sin, but he never had a Son without temptation. He says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him." So temptation resisted is blessed. How can we resist temptation? By going to God in prayer. When tempted pray the prayer of Jesus, "Bring us not into temptation," as a revised edition of this prayer puts it. You can resist temptation by keeping on God's side of the fence. An old minister said to a little boy who was trying to serve God, and he a Christian: "When tempted, my boy, kneel down and pray for God's help, but never climb over the fence into the devil's grounds, and then kneel down and pray for God's help. Pray from God's side of the fence." That was good advice. Do not run into temptation, never go on the devil's side of the fence.