“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
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“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven”
Forgiveness is freedom but unforgiveness is a SIN, TORTURE, and keeps us in PERMANENT BONDAGE. People hurt people all the time and there is no one who is exempted from this. Forgiveness is a choice we must make and when we chose to forgive, it does not mean what happened is not important, validated, or that we are weak. When we chose forgiveness, we are in obedience to God’s word, giving him the opportunity to act on our behalf. As believers, we have to cry for God’s mercies and forgiveness on a daily basis because so often, in one way or the other, we often offend God. It is interesting how Jesus answered in Matthew 18:22 “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Therefore, it is appropriate for Jesus to ask that we forgive without limit. If this is the case, then just imagine how much we hurt God requiring his mercies and forgiveness all the time. Our ability to show mercy and forgiveness is based on our understanding and acceptance of the demonstration of God’s love on the cross of Calvary when HIS ONLY son was sacrificed as a sin offering on our behalf. Titus 3:4-7 “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR US NOT TO SHOW MERCY AND FORGIVE ONE ANOTHER IF WE OURSELVES HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN THROUGH THE COMPLETED WORK ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY. Ephesians 2:4-7 “We are saved because of the mercies and grace of God, made alive in Christ and seated in the heavenly places with him. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer points
Let us come before the King of Glory and ask for forgiveness for all we have done to fall short of his glory. We are all debtors to God, there is always something we have left undone or did not do right according to his word. Matthew 6:9-15 “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."
Ask God to grant you the grace of mercy and forgiveness. As a biblical principle, you can only receive forgiveness and mercy if you learn how to show mercy and forgiveness to others. “With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful...” 2 Samuel 22:26.
Ask God to grant you the grace to show mercy and forgive anyone in your life who has hurt you. Luke 6:36-37 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
Colossians 3:13 says, “Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Ask God to forgive and show mercy on you and your family: Exodus 20:5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.” Exodus 34:6-7 “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …”
As you come before the throne with your offering, let go anyone in your heart irrespective of what they have done to you. God knows and has his way of dealing with people. Jesus came to reconcile man to God and because we have received that pardon, we have also received the grace to forgive. We only need to align ourselves with the word of God and forgive as he has commanded. Mathew 5: 23-24 “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
Most people who have unforgiveness suffer from anger etc. Ask the Lord to heal you from every hurt, bitterness, anger, rage caused by unforgiveness: Ephesians 4: 31-32 "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Ask the Lord to have mercy and forgive our communities and the church: Galatians 5:19-21“Now the practices of the [a]sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), 20 [b]idolatry, [c]sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Ask God to forgive the ministers and ministries of the Gospel: Hebrews 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Micah 7:18-19 "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
Our inability to forgive most often is due to our stony hearts. Ask the Lord to transform our hearts so his word can penetrate and minister to us. Ezekiel 11:19 "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
Ask God for the grace to forgive and try living at peace (tolerate) with people you meet daily: Romans 12:18-21 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
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