- Alexander Pope
When Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer, He included forgiveness. He had lived a blameless life and had nothing to be forgiven for, but one thing Jesus did do was to forgive others and ask the Father to forgive them, too.
We need to continually seek God's forgiveness. We are not only to ask and receive forgiveness for our own sins, but we are to forgive others and ask God to forgive them.
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25 NIV).
How many times have we prayed with an "attitude"? You know, those times when we mean, "Oh God, help so-and-so. You know that she is a real liar and she lied on me again this week. Get her good, God."
Or, "God, I just release You now to go and deal with my friend so-and-so. You know that he is a dirty rotten devil and has been messing up for a long time now. I can't stand being around him. God, he's hurt me too many times. You just have to deal with him."
"He, who cannot forgive a trespass of malice to his enemy, has never tasted the most sublime enjoyment of love."
- Johann Kasper Lavater
Instead of taking someone else's sins to God, forgive them and then ask God to forgive them! Your forgiving attitude will release the person to God so He can deal with them.
It will also clear your relationship with God so that you can repent and receive forgiveness for yourself. The best part of all of this is, when your relationship with God is on track, you will know His will for your life and receive His strength to carry out your mission.
Let the Holy Ghost's light "x-ray" your heart right now! Don't waste a moment being unforgiven or unforgiving.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing