Forgiveness and Prayer
The lack of forgiveness among Christians is, without doubt, the biggest reason that so many Christians are living a life of ineffectiveness. This is certainly true in their prayer lives.
D. L. Moody said: “I believe this (forgiveness) keeps more people from having power with God than any other thing; they are not willing to cultivate a spirit of forgiveness. If we allow the root of bitterness to spring up in our hearts against someone, our prayers will not be answered. It may not be an easy thing to live in sweet fellowship with all those with whom we come in contact, but that is why the grace of God is given to us.”
The “Lord’s Prayer” says that God will not forgive us if we don’t forgive others. This is the only part of the Lord’s prayer that Jesus explained.
“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” (Matthew 6:14-15).
I do not know how the language could be clearer than these words of our Lord. How many prayers are not being answered because of unforgiveness? How many blessings are being missed because of a heart of unforgiveness? How many Christians are living a defeated life because they refuse to forgive?
The “Lord’s Prayer” is a good test of one’s relationship to Christ. If we can pray it, with all our heart, we can know we are born again of God.
Dwight L. Moody tells a story of forgiveness that could only come about through the grace of God.
“Several years ago, the Church of England sent a devoted missionary to New Zealand. After a few years of toil and success, one Sabbath, he was holding a communion service in a district where the converts had been savages not long before. As the missionary was conducting the service, he observed one of the men, just as he was about to kneel at the rail, suddenly leap to his feet and hastily go to the opposite end of the church. After a while, he returned and calmly took his place. After the service, the clergyman took him to one side and asked the reason for his strange behavior.
He replied, “As I was about to kneel, I recognized in the man next to me the chief of a neighboring tribe, who had murdered my father, and drank his blood, and I had sworn by all the gods that I would slay that man at the first opportunity. The impulse to have my revenge at first almost overpowered me, and I rushed away, as you saw me, to escape the power of it. As I stood at the other end of the room and considered the object of our meeting, I thought of Him (Jesus) who prayed for His own murderers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And I felt that I could forgive the murderer of my father, and came and knelt down at his side.”
What a story of forgiveness, oh! How the man must have left there in triumph and victory, blessed by God.
If we are not willing to forgive someone who committed a single offence against us, how can we expect a just God to forgive the tens of thousands of sins we are guilty of?
Let’s be willing to forgive others, that we may be able to claim forgiveness from God. As we set others free, we will be freeing ourselves as well.
Books by Jerry, many of which you may read for free on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jerry-Blount/author/B06XK4GJT1
- Things You Probably Didn’t Learn in Church
- Basic Christianity: Living a Joy-Filled Life and Making a Difference
- The End Times: Signs and Prophecy
- Noah and the Great Flood: Proof and Effects
- Following Jesus and Fishing Along the Way: Stories of God’s Great Outdoors
- The Rapture: Coming Soon
- Delighting in the Lord: Enjoying a Close Walk with Jesus
Sharing Jesus 