WEEK 5 | PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS PT. 1

Matthew 6:12

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

Forgiveness : to let go | to pardon | to remove the guilt resulting from a wrongdoing

Our greatest need is forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is an act of His grace. We all need forgiveness for something. We are not perfect and we have built up some debt that is in need of God’s forgiveness.

Debts : moral debts : occurs when we sin against God.

All debt must be paid for. We all know this at some level (student loans, credit card debt, car loans…). We owe a moral debt that we cannot pay for, but God in His grace and mercy sent His son, Jesus, to pay our debt.

Forgive us our debts.

The forgiveness and cleansing of sin is unique to Christianity. In fact, I heard this story once about a seminar that was put on by several prominent theologians. And one of those brilliant thinkers was C.S. Lewis. The panel was asked “what is found in Christianity which is not found in any other religion?” C.S. Lewis responded, “That's simple. The forgiveness of sins.”

Pray for Forgiveness

When we pray, we need to remember that we can lay any sin before God and He is willing to forgive us. Our past is buried in the sea of God’s forgiveness and forgetfulness. All we need to do is confess our sin in prayer and God is faithful to forgive us. We do not need to carry our shame and guilt anymore. Prayer reminds us that we are forgiven of our debts and free of our guilt and shame.

Questions :

(Exercise) - Write a list of the things you feel guilt and shame about. Now what would it look like to let go of all those things? Take a moment to sit with God and lay your past in His hands. He is big enough to forgive you of anything. Spend time on this step, do not rush through it. Healing takes time. Take the time to heal in the presence of the Lord.

  • When you are ready, talk about how this exercise affected you.

Guest User