FORGIVE FOR YOUR OWN GOOD

A FORGIVENESS PRAYER 11-14-2000
Rhoderick D. Ice

David wrote: "Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitudes of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight --" Psalm 51:1-4

Jesus said: "For if you forgive men when they wrong you, your spiritual Father will forgive you, too. But if you don't forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your wrongs." [Matthew 6:14-15 Jordan].

Paul said Love is the greatest of all [1 Corinthians 13:13]. Christian love is key to everything else, especially dealing with the difficulties of life. LOVE enables us to FORGIVE. [1 Peter 4:8]

There are some who use unforgiveness to dominate others. They think they have power because of their harsh and unforgiving ways. And so long as we refuse to forgive them, we become a slave to our resentment and anger. Which is what they intend. But we can escape from their domination by bringing them before God’s Throne of Grace and FORGIVING them. Paul wrote: “Be angry, and do not sin”; do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Eph. 4:26. The GNB words this: “’If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day.’ If revenge is due, let God take care of it. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s anger do it. For the scripture says, ‘I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will make him burn with shame.’ Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.” Romans 12:19-21 GNB. For after all, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.

A member of a mission team felt the team leader had treated him unfairly. For months he nursed a grudge against the leader. He paid a physical toll for this as his stomach tied in knots and his health deteriorated. Finally in desperation he knelt and prayed, "Father, I forgive Steve (not his name) and I release him from my anger. I believe he was in the wrong, yet I cannot continue in this way. I ask You to bless him and give him wisdom. Fill my heart with Your peace! In Jesus' name, Amen." His health began to improve from that day. And, he found it easier to work with Steve.

Forgiveness is a choice - an act of will - rather than a feeling. If we pray for a person, we can be assured that we have forgiven that person. Visualize the person and say to the Lord: "I love him/her because You love him/her." 1 John 4:7-21. Christian love is not an "ooey-gooey feeling," but relating to others through Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is a life long obligation. This does not mean that we excuse trespasses against us. It does mean that we do not allow ourselves to be held hostage by unforgiveness and bitterness.

Jesus said: "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." [John 15:12 NKJV]

Jesus said: "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." [Mark 11:25-26 NKJV]

Peter asked the question: "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." [Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV] Jesus is saying that one of His disciples should never stop forgiving.

The very essence of effective "healing" is forgiveness. Healing may be needed in a relationship with a father, mother, sisters or brothers, friends, church leaders, brothers & sisters in Christ. Most people require healing in self-relationship. The doorway to being "perfect" is almost always forgiveness.

To begin, visualize Jesus putting His hand on your head, saying: "I have come to liberate you today. Go deeply into the valley of forgiveness and be set free!" [compare 1 John 4:20-21; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7]

At times we tend to blame God when things go wrong. It is right to complain to God, but not to murmur and blame Him. Note the many examples in the Psalms; also Job 13:15. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my ways before him." Job defended his own ways before God, and so will we. This was not presumptuous, nor murmuring, but a child reaching up to his Father.

"Holy Father, there is so much that I do not understand. I forgive You (but it was I who was at fault) for the times death has come into the family, hard times, financial difficulties, or things that I thought were punishments sent by You. People said, 'It's God's will,' and I became bitter and resentful toward You. Purify my heart and mind today. Help me to look always to You and Your Glory."

"In life, we all have unfair things that happen to us. We can choose to hold on to the hurt, become bitter and angry, and let it poison our future; or, we can choose to let it go and trust God to make it up to us. You not think that you are able to forgive because someone hurt you so badly. You might say, “Joel, you don’t know how I was raised.” “My ex-spouse caused me a lot of pain.” “This friend betrayed me.” “I just can’t let it go.” But realize, you don’t forgive for their sake; you forgive for your own sake. When you forgive, you are taking away their power to hurt you. But if you hold on to that offense and stay angry, you are only poisoning your own life and disconnecting yourself from God." Osteen

In Acts 7:55-59 Stephen prayed to Jesus. "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit....Lord, do not charge them with this sin."

"Lord Jesus Christ, I ask today to forgive everyone in my life. I know that You will give me the strength to forgive. I thank You that You love me more than I love myself and want my happiness more than I desire it for myself." [compare Psalm 130]

Many have trouble accepting the reality of God's forgiveness. It will be necessary for me to forgive myself - to accept the fact that God has forgiven me - to release myself from guilt and despair.

"Heavenly Father, I forgive myself for all my sins, faults and failings. [compare Psalm 51 in this context]. I forgive myself for unbelief in Your goodness, and for not truly believing in Your love for me. I release stored up bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. I forgive myself for not spending enough time in prayer, for allowing myself to be distracted from praise and worship to You. I forgive myself for any sins against purity, for compulsive behavior, for hurting my parents or friends, for wounding people with words and behavior. Thank You, Heavenly Father, for the grace to forgive myself and the power to change."

The past is gone forever, and we cannot change it. Yet we cannot blot it out of our minds. But we must move on to tomorrow. Forgiveness is key to moving on.

"Heavenly Father, I forgive my mother for any negativity and unlove she may have extended to me throughout my life. I forgive her for any times she may have hurt me, resented me, been unreasonably angry with me, or punished me unfairly."

"Heavenly Father, I forgive my father for any negativity and unlove he may have extended to me throughout my life. I forgive him for any nonsupport, lack of love, affection or attention."

"Lord, I extend forgiveness to my sisters and brothers, my spouse, my children, my mother- in-law, father-in-law, son/daughter in law, and other relatives by marriage, who may have treated my family with a lack of love. For all their words, thoughts, actions or omissions which injure and cause pain, I forgive them."

"Heavenly Father, I forgive the leaders of the church who may have been harsh, cold or overly strict with me in my formative years. I forgive them for any expression of negativity or unlove. I forgive them for any lack of support, affirmation, bad sermons, lack of friendliness, not providing me or my family with the inspiration we needed, for any hurts they have inflicted on me or my family, even in the distant past. I forgive them today."

Children may misunderstand the words and actions of church leaders. Sometimes children are ignored and pushed aside. Adults may experience these same things. Church leaders may appear to be insensitive and unloving. Yet we forgive and do our part to correct the situation. We are all One in Christ!

"Heavenly Father, I forgive those who have hurt me the most, those who are the hardest to forgive. I now choose to forgive, even though I may still feel angry and hurt. I also make peace with the one family member, the one friend, the one church leader who has hurt me most in life."

"Lord, I beg pardon of all these people for the hurt I have inflicted on them, especially my mother and father, and my marriage partner. I am especially sorry for the three greatest hurts I have inflicted on each one."

"Thank You, Jesus, that I am being freed from the evil of unforgiveness. I praise You and Thank You for granting me repentance and forgiveness and setting me free. I want to offer my life to You as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. In Jesus' name, Amen."

"Holy Spirit, pour the love of God into my heart [Romans 5:5]. Fill me with Holy Joy, Christian Love, and all the Fruit of the Spirit. Mold me and make me. [2 Corinthians 3:17-18] I claim the Victory, in Jesus' Name. Amen."

"Blessed Trinity: Father, Son, Spirit. I lift my voice to You. Thank You for giving me life and existence. Thank You for sending Jesus to be the Lamb who takes away sin. I claim the Victory which He won and I claim all Your blessings. In Jesus' name, Amen."

“Thank You, Lord, for forgiving me! You said that You would forgive my sins and no longer remember my wrongs [Hebrews 8:12; Psalm 130:3-4]. You said that if I would confess my sins and weaknesses to You, that You would forgive my sins and purify me from all wrongdoing [1 John 1:9]. I do confess my sins and my weaknesses. I do want to be right with You. Fill me with all Your love and mercy and blessings through the Holy Spirit. I claim it all in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

PS: The devil uses "unforgiveness" to destroy souls. Phil. H was harsh and unforgiving, very extreme in his attitude toward his own family as well as others. Finally his wife left him, and he attempted suicide. Joe C. was also very extreme and unforgiving. He suffered a heart attack and this destroyed his "faith." Eventually he shot and killed himself. It is so very important to be able to come with boldness and confidence to God's Throne of Grace to seek His forgiveness and blessing. Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22; 2 Cor. 2:10-11.

"Holy Father, we know it was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. We know You love us and want us to come to You. We do have faith; help our unbelief. Increase our faith and hope and love. Through Christ, Amen."