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.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
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.
Each of us has been hurt or disappointed by someone at some point in our lives. Sometimes those hurts and disappointments aren’t easy to forgive. It often feels much easier to hold onto those hurts than to release the offense to God and allow forgiveness to sweep over the situation. If I’m honest, there have been many times when I don’t really want to forgive someone. But then verses like today’s come to mind. And I am reminded of just how much I have been forgiven and what my response to God’s great love for me should be. Humility, love, and forgiveness.
Who is someone you need to forgive? Write down their name. Then, crumple up the paper and throw it away. Commit to working on forgiving them and canceling out their “debt” to you, just as God does for us.
