Lord Jesus, we marvel at your loving sacrifice leading to our repentance and unconditional forgiveness. Oh Father! To know we can enter and dwell in your presence by way of Jesus’ blood which was shed to pay the wages of our sins is unimaginable. To experience the safety of your unceasing love, always welcoming us in our grossly imperfect state with a promise of sanctification through Christ alone amazes us. Your kindness and patience are never ending and never failing. We find our hope in nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
Father, just as you unconditionally forgave us, we are called to overflow with compassion and forgive one another. We confess this is not something that comes naturally for us. When we feel wronged, our tendency is to harbor self-protective anger, bitterness, and resentment which then results in broken relationships and creates an invisible chain that takes us hostage redirecting our trust in Christ, diminishing our discernment and wisdom, and stealing the joy of our salvation.
We confess our fleshly desire to seek what we feel is justified revenge. We are aware of some of the symptoms of an unforgiving spirit and ensuing bitterness. When we find ourselves replaying an experience over and over in our minds or feeling a need to tell others what happened or feeling a strong negative reaction when we hear about or are around a particular person, we sense that bitterness and unforgiveness.
Father, like Peter, we grapple with how often to forgive. As you told Peter, our forgiveness to others should be as yours, unconditional and never ending. We so often find ourselves in the seat of the unmerciful servant described in Matthew 18. Help, Lord!
Father, You desire for us is to experience freedom, not the chains of anxiety and roots of bitterness that bind us and our witness when we don’t forgive.
But Lord…
What about when we’ve been neglected?
What about when we’ve been deceived?
What about when we’ve been unfairly treated?
What about when we’ve been betrayed?
What about when we’ve been misrepresented?
What about when we’ve been put down?
Worst yet, what if we’ve experienced violent attack or abuse?
Father, if we have been deeply scarred by painful experiences, guide us to seek biblical truth and hope through gifted counselors. Remind us that forgiveness doesn’t mean putting ourselves in harm’s way or enabling someone to further injure themselves and others. Bless us with a hopeful heart when dealing with a Christian friend that has sinned against us as we gently and courageously follow Matthew 18 with a prayerful desire to win them over to trust Christ and a restored relationship.
We are desperate for your supernatural overflow. With the same power that raised Christ from the dead, empower us with unconditional forgiveness toward others. Rather than operating as judges and executioners of justice, bless us with your heart of love and mercy. When we stand in prayer, if we hold anything against anyone, empower us to forgive them, like you Father have forgiven us of our sins.
Replace our fleshly responses with Christ-empowered transformation yielding understanding, patience, and unceasing forgiveness and remembering that we have too often knowingly or unknowingly been the culprit of actions that wounded others.
In Christ,
Blessings!
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:32
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Romans 2:4
4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
Ephesians 4:32
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11
10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Mark 11:25
25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.