The Prayer of Forgiveness

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against
anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive
you your trespasses (Mark 11: 25)

The Prayer of Forgiveness helps us deal with the condition of our
hearts in our everyday relationships with other people. Jesus
is so practical, He knew we would have these relationships and we
would often need the help of this type of prayer.

The Prayer of Forgiveness allows us to stay free from bitterness,
unforgiveness, and resentment that can result from our dealing
with those around us. It is so important that much is said
about forgiveness throughout the Bible, and Jesus often spoke about it Himself.

The Prayer of Forgiveness is vital in keeping our relationships
pure. A lack of forgiveness will quench our faith. In fact, in the
above scripture, Jesus tied the Prayer Of Forgiveness with the Prayer of Faith.

Unforgiveness is a killer of faith. It will cause your faith not
to work. When we are harboring unforgiveness, we are not walking
in love, and Galatians 5:6 says that "faith works by love."
No love, no working faith.

That's why Jesus said, that when you stand praying in faith,
praying the Prayer of Faith, if you have anything against anyone,
you must forgive him; you must be sure you have nothing against
anyone.

Forgiveness is a key to the working of your faith. It is a beautiful
trait that should characterize our lifestyle.

We Are Commanded To Forgive

Paul knew this, and in Ephesians 4:32 he actually commanded
Christians to be forgiving with one another: "And be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ
also forgave you"

Christ has forgiven you. When you were a mess and did all
kinds of crazy, detestable things - when you were against God,
is sin - God in His love and mercy totally and completely
forgave you. You didn't deserve it, but because of His grace, His love,
and His mercy He completely forgave you.

God loves you so much that every thought, every word, and
every action that opposed Him, He forgave. And if you ask Him
about them, He doesn't even remember them, because His blood
washed away your sin as far as the East is from the West.

So Paul said, "You much be kind to one another, tenderhearted
and forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you." Just
think about how much God has forgiven you!

God wants you, as His child , to forgive others just as He has
forgiven you. It's not impossible, although sometimes it may seem so.
What the Word of God tells us to do, we can do. God himself will help us.

Let me explain something about unforgivingness. You don't
have to dig around and wonder if there's unforgiveness in your life.
If you have an open and honest heart, you will know if it's in you.
If your heart is open, God will show you. He will reveal it to you by Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit shines the light on your words, attitudes,
thoughts, and actions, and it will be clear. You don't have to be confused
and soulishly groping in a quest to find unforgiveness.

"Oh, I wonder if I've forgiven. I wonder if I have unforgiveness in my heart?"
Trust the Holy Spirit to show you. Ask Him to show you, ,and when He does,
accept it and pray the Prayer of Forgiveness. Get rid of it! It's dangerous to let bitterness and
unforgiveness take root in our heart. In fact, it's a sin.

If there is a root of bitterness in your heart, let the power of God through the Prayer of Forgiveness
help root it out. God wants you to be clean and pure, full of mercy and forgiveness
in all your relationship. It may seem impossible, but Jesus will help you do it,
if you are open and willing to change.

Protection For Our Heart

Because the Prayer of Forgiveness deals with our heart, one of the effects of walking
in the power of this prayer is a heart that is guarded and protect from unwanted enemies.
It protect us from hatred, ,bitterness, resentment, and strife.

Because we all have relationship with others, there are opportunities for all of us to
let these negative things come into our lives. The Prayer of Forgiveness keeps our heart
protected so they can't get in and take root.

When we pray the Prayer of Forgiveness, it is an act of love and faith that
puts mercy into motion : God's mercy and our mercy. It is a way to release the
love of God to other people and to come into peace and security in our own mind toward
people, even in negative situations.

I heard someone say this once: When someone sins against you,
when someone speaks evil against you, when there is confusion and
unforgiveness in a relationship, the way you should react is to consider that
the person is turning in a prayer request for himself to you.

So instead of responding the way the world does - to hit back, be angry, bitter, hard,
and unforgiving - we can realize, by the love of God, that he is asking you to pray for him.
This person needs help. He is saying by persecuting you, by being in strife with you, by hitting
you with his words, "I need prayer. I need prayer." If we will respond with prayer for
those who curse us ( see Matthew 5:44), it will protect our hearts.

You can make forgiveness a lifestyle. When people come
against you and sin against you, just remember they are turning in
a request for prayer. They're asking you to pray for them. If you do
that, it will help you walk in love, forgiveness, and understanding
in every relationship you have.

One of the greatest dangers of unforgiveness in a Christian's
life is that it can become bitterness and hardness toward God. Many
times bitterness goes hand in hand with rebellion, because one of
the definitions of rebellion is bitterness.

For example, in Isaiah 1:2, God says the children of Israel were
rebellious, and in verse 6 the fruit of the rebellion was wounds,
bruises, ,and sores.

Many people say, "Oh, it's my personality; I'm just so easily
hurt and rejects." They allow self-pity, unforgiveness, and so forth
to operate in their lives. Others think it is the right response, even
the legal response, but that is self-deception.

I' m not saying that hurt is not real. Hurt is a very real thing
that must be dealt with, but the healing for any hurt is found in
Jesus Christ.

There are people who actually worship their hurts; they worship
rejection, ,and use it as an excuse to do their own thing or blame
others. "Well, I am so rejected. Please pray for my rejection."

Walking Continually Forgiveness

In the New Testament, we find that Peter had questions about
this area of forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21, he asks Jesus:

Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive
him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times?

Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy
times seven! Matthew 18:21, 22 (Amplified)

Peter thought forgiving seven times was enough. "How many
times do I have to deal with this, "he asked, "seven times?" "No,"
Jesus responded, "Forgiveness is so vital to you, it's not just seven
times; you must be willing to forgive 490 times!"

That's how Jesus looked at it and how He wants us to look at
it. That's the importance He placed on forgiveness. I don't believe
He was referring to praying the Prayer of Forgiveness over
again; we can pray the Prayer of Forgiveness and know it was
worked by faith.

I believe Jesus is talking about the fact that there will always
be opportunities to forgive, and no matter how many times we have
to do it, we've got to continually walk with forgiveness in our lives
and purity toward others in our hearts.

God looks seriously at how you and I deal with our relationship
with other people. He looks at bitterness and unforgiveness
very seriously. Of course, the easiest thing for us to do, and the
thing many people do, is to put the blame on other people for all
their problems.

However, when dealing with forgiveness and our attitudes,
motives, and thoughts, the Holy Spirit always points the finger
directly at us. He says, in effect, "It isn't important that someone
else is doing - what about you? How are you reacting?"

This is exactly what Peter brought up: his own responsibility
in relationships. He asked, "How many times, when my brother
sins against me, must I forgive him?"

Release the Hurt

Now, step four: Release the emotion of the situation and the
relationship to the Lord. Pray about the hurt and the rejection and
release it in the presence of the Lord. Choose to let the rejection,
feelings, and hurt go when you pray.

It's very simple. Pray, "Father, I also ask You and I thank You
that You have healed me right now of those words and the hurt. I
don't want to come to You with self-pity, pride, or hardness toward
You or anyone.

"Father, I ask You to touch my heart. As an act of my will, I
choose not to be hurt. I release the hurt, the rejection, and the emotion
in this relationship. Father, I bless those who curse me.

"Thank You, Father, for your power in my heart and mind that
takes away hurt, rejection, and bad feeling. I receive your power
now. I have it now, and I thank You for it in Jesus' Name. The feeling,
the hurt, the emotion is touched right now by the Holy Spirit.
I thank you for it. I receive it in Jesus' Name. I refuse to accept hurt,
anger, isolation, frustration, or rejection.

"Thank You, Father, for the freedom and the flow of the Holy Spirit
touching my heart and mind right now. I take it by faith, and
I' m healed in my heart, my mind, and my soul. I look to You, Holy
Spirit, as my Comforter."

Sometimes, as the Holy Spirit heals, there are tears of cleansing
and release. Let those tears flow. The Holy Spirit will help you. Be
sure not to cry simply because you feel sorry for yourself, but from
your heart rivers of healing can flow.

Many people pray to forgive, but they never release the emotion
that goes with it. As an act of your faith, by the words of your
mouth, release it, the power of the Holy Spirit, if you believe, will com-
fort and fill you with the mercy, grace, and healing you need.

Choose To Forget

Forget it! Right there in your prayer,
just forget it. Again, this is something you have to choose to do.
Many people want to remember it, think about it, talk about it, and
remember it some more. No! Forget it! If you'll do that in your
prayer, the Holy Spirit will help you.

This doesn't mean the relationship is automatically going to
change; you have to understand that. There may still be things that
have to be dealt with, but what you're dealing with in this prayer
is your heart and keeping it clean and pure. When the Holy Spirit
leads you to pray this way, do it! There's power in this kind of prayer.

If you have pray in tongues, you can add that in here, too.
It's no problem. Pray in the Spirit if you want to, and then say,
"Father, now that I've prayed about this, I leave it here in your presence.
I choose not to remember it. Holy Spirit, help me not to
remember this. I leave it in your presence. It is finished. It is done.
I forget it because of the blood; because of love, in Jesus' Name.

"Holy Spirit, help me to walk this out. Help me, Father,
because I still have to deal with these people; but now I can deal in
purity and love, and I don't have to deal out of hurt, bitterness,
unforgivenees, or hardness. I can walking your wisdom, purity, and
love and walk through this relationship victoriously, with your power.

"I thank You, Father, for your help in this relationship. In
Jesus' Name, I will keep my heart right. Thank You, Father, that
now I can walk in forgiveness. Let forgiveness flow from my life.
I thank You for it.

"Satan, I rebuke you and your hold on my life. You can't bind
me in this situation, in Jesus' Name. I break the power of all rejection
and every evil force released against me, Jesus' Name, Amen."

The ultimate goal is for you to develop a lifestyle of forgiveness.
When you need to pray this prayer to cleanse your heart and
to release others, ,you have it. You can have a lifestyle where you
forgive easily and quickly, and you walk in the spirit of forgiveness.

You can be totally delivered from every bondage in human
relationships and be happy, pure, ,and free before God and man. It's
so wonderful to get unforgiving, bitterness, and resentment out
of your life and to keep them out - forever!

HOME