3 HUMBLE FISHERMAN TEACH A BISHOP ~Must We Only Pray a Certain Way?

Back in the early 1600s a Bishop's ship stopped on a remote Hawaiian island for a day.  The Bishop determined to use the time as profitably as possible.  He strolled along the seashore and came across three fishermen mending their nets.  He thought it was a good opportunity for him to share the Gospel with these men.  In Pidgin English they explained to him that their peoples had been Christianized by missionaries many years ago.  "We are Christians!" they exclaimed proudly pointing to one another  The Bishop was impressed.

He wondered to himself, "Do they know the Lord's Prayer?" It turned out that they never even heard of it!  The Bishop was shocked.

"What do you say, then, when you pray?" " We lift our eyes to heaven.  We pray, 'We are three, you are three, have mercy on us."  The Bishop was appalled at the primitive, the downright heretical nature of their prayer. He believed he must teach these immature believers how to properly pray.

So he spent the whole day teaching them the Lord's Prayer.  The fisherman were poor learners, but they gave it all they had, and before the Bishop sailed away next day he had the satisfaction of hearing them go through the whole formula without a fault.

Months later the Bishop's ship happened to pass by those islands again and the Bishop, as he paced the deck saying his evening prayers, recalled with pleasure the three men on that distant island who were now able to properly pray, thanks to his patient efforts.  Without realizing it he was thinking in a prideful manner as if due to his superior position and knowledge he was able to help make those uneducated fisherman more wise. 

While he was lost in thought he happened to look up and noticed a spot of light in the east.  The light kept approaching the ship and, as the Bishop gazed in wonder, he saw three figures walking on the water!  The captain stopped the boat and everyone leaned over the rails to see this amazing and miraculous sight.

When they were within speaking distance, the Bishop recognized that it was his three friends, the fishermen.  "Bishop!" they exclaimed.  'We hear your boat go past island and come hurry hurry meet you."

"What is it you want?" asked the awe-stricken Bishop.  "Bishop," they said, "we so, so sorry.  We forget lovely prayer.  We say, 'Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom come...' then we forget.  Please tell us prayer again."

The Bishop, felt greatly humbled. "Go back to your homes, my friends," he said, "and each time you pray, say, "We are three, you are three, have mercy on us!"

"The LORD is near to all them that call on him, to all that call on him in truth." ~ Psalms 145:18