ow in that town who was
being mistreated. Again and again she went to the judge and asked him to
help her--but he never paid any attention. Finally he said to himself:
'I don't care about this woman, but she is becoming a nuisance. Perhaps
if I give her what she wants she will stop pestering me.'" Jesus said
very emphatically, "If this wicked man finally helped a widow because
she kept on asking for justice, won't God, who is good and just, answer
you if you pray sincerely?"

Simon saw how little real faith he had in spite of all his praying. How
often he had thought to himself. _Now I'll pray and see what happens._
He had been testing God, not trusting him!

"O Master," he urged, "won't you teach us to pray as John the Baptizer
taught his disciples?"

"When you pray, say: 'Our Father in heaven, holy be thy name. Thy
Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'"

Most of the time, the disciples had to admit, they thought only of
persuading God to do what they wanted.

"Ask your Heavenly Father, 'Give us today the food we will need to do
our work tomorrow,'" said Jesus. "Anyone who serves God trusts him for
all things he needs day by day.

"Then you must ask God to forgive you your sins. But if you are not
willing to forgive others, do not think for one moment that God will
forgive you."

"Master, how often shall someone sin against me and I go on forgiving
him?" asked Peter. "Seven times?"

"Not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven." Jesus paused and then
went on. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who decided to settle his
accounts with his servants. The king ordered one man, with his wife and
children, to be sold into slavery, and all his possessions sold for cash
so that the debt could be met.

"The servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Master have patience with me
and I will pay you every penny.' Out of pity, the king released him and
forgave him the whole debt.

"On his way home, the servant met a fellow servant who owed him a very
small sum of money. He grabbed the poor fellow by the throat and
demanded, 'You pay me what you owe me!' The man fell on his knees and
begged, 'Have patience with me and I will pay you.' But he refused.
Instead, he put him into prison until the debt should be paid. The other
servants saw how unfair this was and they told the king what had
happened.

"The king called for the unjust servant and said: 'You wicked servant!
When you asked, I forgave y