HOW TO PRAY (PART 5)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’”

Matthew 6:9-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Here’s a riddle for you:

It’s the hardest thing to give away and the last thing on your mind today. It always goes to those who don’t deserve it. It’s the opposite of how you feel when the pain they caused is just too real. It takes everything you have to say the word.

What is it?

Well, if you are a Christian music fan, you may have already recognized these clues as actual lyrics in the Matthew West song titled “Forgiveness”, the answer to our riddle today. The song openly discusses the difficulty we find in our human condition to pardon others when they have done wrong to us or others. This tendency is just another reminder why we need the Lord to lead and guide us through life, particularly when it comes to forgiving others.

Ironically, this matter of forgiveness is at the center of the Gospel for when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we find our sins pardoned, the penalty for them already paid by God’s only Son who died in our place. As Christians, one of our primary blessings we receive from God is forgiveness through Jesus, no matter what we may have done in life, and yet we have such a hard time passing this forgiveness onto others. Perhaps this is why Jesus made forgiveness and integral part of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer He gave all His followers to pray within the context of His Sermon on the Mount. Here’s what He added to what we have studied so far:

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.” Matthew 6:9-11

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’” v. 12

Think about this statement for a moment. For what is the praying person really asking from God? Is it not to be forgiven as he or she has forgiven others?

Now depending on your translation the word “debts” may be replaced by “trespasses” but essentially the idea is the same. Jesus gives us words to pray within the Lord’s Prayer that are phrased in such a way to implore Christians to forgive as they are forgiven. Otherwise, if we didn’t forgive anyone then we would essentially be asking God to not forgive us. Or better yet, why even say that part of the prayer if we’re not forgiving?

Need some additional incentive when it comes to the matter of forgiveness?

Consider these verses which up the ante and show us that we really have no choice but to forgive. It’s not optional.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:27

God loved us so much that He did not wish for us to perish, despite being sinners. The only solution was for a substitutionary sacrifice to be made, a perfect unblemished human being who would pay the price mankind deserved. It was the only way God could effectively forgive His people and live with them forever.

And so He brought His Son into the world, a sinless baby who would grow up to be the man called Jesus, also referred to by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who had come to take away the sins of the world. That would be your sins and mine. It was Jesus who was crucified, bled, and died on a cross we deserved to be nailed to, all for the cause of forgiveness. And while Jesus was dying, derided and ridiculed by the people who had gathered below, what did He do?

Didn’t He look to heaven and ask for God His Father to forgive them for they knew not what they were doing?

Even near death, Jesus was forgiving and if He could do that, you and I can forgive anyone. Anyone.

Indeed, Jesus is the measuring stick for forgiveness and so there was no better person to teach us how to pray about forgiving others.

Now all we need to do is make it happen, pardoning anyone we are holding a debt against.

Tomorrow we finish this series by looking at the matter of temptation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com