In Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus teaches us to pray and gives us what is known as the ‘Lord’s Prayer‘. It is a powerful prayer which is also a table of contents on areas prayer. Volumes have been written about it.
In v. 12 it says:
forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Here’s a quick thought on that verse: a significant amount of the sin in our lives is a reaction to those who have sinned against us. It is easy for us to blame others for our own issues and troubles and I in no way am trying to blame our sinful on what others have done to us. However the reality is that some of our sinful behavior is a response to the ways we have been treated by others. It is a wrong response and we must seek forgiveness, but Jesus provides some crucial insight into some of the root causes of our behavior.
As we forgive those who have sinned against us we ourselves find greater freedom to respond in righteousness rather than sin. Rather than go on discussing the theology related to this issue I want to encourage you to simply take a moment right now to pray:
- Ask the Lord to show you any people that you need to forgive in your life today.
- Ask him to bring them to your mind and then choose to forgive them. It is helpful to say out loud that you forgive them.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen you today to respond to them in righteousness.
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Jim
