“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”—Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)
Heavenly
Father,
Help me to live in forgiveness—both by receiving it and extending it.
How often
have I cried out to You for mercy and forgiveness for my sin, while demanding
judgment for others, for the wrong they have done to me?
How many
times have I thought, “I really should forgive that person, but how can I, when
they treated me so badly?”
Help me to
realize that Your call to me to forgive is a command that carries with it a
very strong warning—that if I refuse to forgive, Your forgiveness is not mine
to receive!
Help me to acknowledge
that it is a matter of my heart as much as it is a matter of my actions—that having
a right attitude of the heart will allow me to freely give forgiveness, as well
as receive it.
Show me that when I don't
forgive others, I show that I don't understand my own need for forgiveness—thinking that
it is somehow different from anyone else's need for the same and thereby
placing myself above others.
Help me to realize that only in humbling myself before You, can I put myself in the position to receive what You have freely offered me.
Remind me to be sure I have
no un-forgiveness toward anyone in my heart, before I assume to come before You
and ask You to forgive me.
Help me to live in forgiveness—both by receiving it and extending it.
In the
name of Jesus, Amen.
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