Matthew 6:9-13 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
How often do you pray The Lord’s Prayer? Most of us memorized this as kids and have been praying it all our lives. Be honest with me. Do you pay attention to the words or do you just recite them? I must admit, there are many times that I am just going through the motions. I am not truly engaged in the prayer as much as I am if it is my own words that I am saying.
We were taught how to pray this way in Matthew 6:9-13. But let’s look at how He followed up in verses 14 and 15. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Wow, that is strong. It is easy to say that you forgive someone, but are you really forgiving them in your heart? God knows if you have forgiven someone or not. He knows everything that is in our hearts.
If you have forgiven someone, you will have peace within yourself. You will not hold what they did to you against them anymore. That does not mean that you trust them going forward. It just means that the past is not going to give you the stress, anger or any of the feelings that were caused. This is NOT easy. I have struggled with forgiving people for years when I felt that I had already forgiven them. I remember the feeling when I actually forgave them. It was no longer an issue in my life after that. I had peace.
I would like you to think about some of the people that you have forgiven. How did you feel afterwards? Be honest with yourself. Have you really forgiven them? If not, pray that God will give you the strength to forgive them and grant you peace.
Blessings,
Thomas
