Forgive us our Debts

It’s important to start today in prayer, as this part of the Lord’s Prayer may be a challenging one for you. Today, we have to address the areas of unforgiveness in our lives. So let’s start by bringing this before Jesus.

Jesus, thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You that even though I was, and am, a sinner, You died for me. Thank You that through Your death and forgiveness, reconciliation with God is possible for me. Help me to open my heart today, and prompt my heart to areas of my life where forgiveness is needed. I pray this in Your name, Amen.

Repentance and confession is an essential part of a powerful prayer life for us. Forgiving those who need our forgiveness is also a necessary part of a powerful prayer life—they go hand in hand. Receiving God’s forgiveness and then granting forgiveness as inspired by the example of Jesus keeps our prayers humble and answerable. We are the forgiven people of God, so we do not hold back grace—we forgive.

Just a few days ago, my phone rang with a number I did not recognize. I picked up the call, and a voice from my past said, “Hello, Grant.” In the moments that followed, an old friend asked me to forgive him for something that happened years ago. Truthfully, I didn't even remember the incident, but God had been working in my friend’s life and brought this moment to his mind, prompting him to “clean his side of the street.” As someone who has been forgiven much, I was quick to say the words, “I forgive you.”

As I wrapped up the conversation, grateful to have been offered the opportunity to forgive, God reminded me quietly that I had done the exact same thing to someone else that my friend had done to me! The scripture from Matthew 5 jumped into my mind, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24 NIV) What I had just received, I needed to do! In a matter of minutes, I was dialing a phone number, and the circle of forgiveness and grace enveloped all of us.

This is a great moment to ask: God, is there a place in my life that I need to return to and clean up, make amends, or release a judgment?

Why is that so important to my prayer life? The truth is hard, but clinging to the forgiveness of God while holding on to a lack of forgiveness towards someone else doesn’t work. Unforgiveness impedes our prayers. Receive the freedom today of forgiving someone, through the power offered in what Jesus did on the cross for you and me.

You are a miracle!

Grant