WATCHWORD:
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.” Mark 11:25,26 (amplified)
Meditation:
That Terrible Day
That terrible day? Do you remember? Six weeks ago — Good Friday. That’s when our Lord and Savior, as he was dying, prayed the Prayer of Forgiveness. Do you remember what some of His last words were there on the cross? “Father, forgive them.” He was saying, “I forgive them and, Father, I ask you to forgive them and not to put this on their account, not to blame them.” His cry, his plea to God, was for us. He was crying out that they, you and me, would be released; that God would forgive us.
There is a side to the Prayer of Forgiveness that is a form of intercession; a side where we stand in the breach, asking that God would not remember the sin of the person who has sinned against us. Our sin is all-inclusive. God’s forgiveness is all-inclusive. Why?
Remember that catchy little phrase that we so love to recite, when we simply need to bury a wrong we have done, deep in our heart and trust: “God so loved the world that He gave…” That’s it! That’s how much love there is in this prayer. It doesn’t have anything to do with our feelings, good or bad. This is the heart of faith.
What Would Jesus Do? Hmmm. We have a chance to make the Jesus choice, when we forgive. Remember, it’s a choice we make. A decision we make and often times it’s not easy. Setting aside our hurt feelings and our pride, and doing the hard work of healing requires something from us that we do not have by ourselves. It requires God’s helping hand. When we believe and when we pray the Prayer of Forgiveness, it works. God hears and answers this kind of prayer. He loves us for it!
Mary Isleib, in her book, Effective Fervent Prayer, outlines 5 steps to forgiveness:
1. You must forgive the person who has wronged you
2. Ask God to forgive them
3. Ask God to forgive you
4. Release the emotion of the situation and the relationship to the Lord. Pray about the hurt and rejection and release it in the presence of the Lord. Choose to let the rejection, feelings, and hurt go, when you pray.
5. Forget it! Right there in your prayer, just forget it.
Forgiveness is hard! No, it is impossible! There is no way to forgive and forget on our own. This is work that requires a partnership, you and The Holy Spirit. This doesn’t mean that relationships are automatically going to be healed; that takes time. There may still be things that we have to be dealt with, but what we’re dealing with in this prayer is our heart and keeping it clean and pure. When the Holy Spirit leads us to pray this way, do it! There’s power in this kind of prayer.
The topic of That Terrible Day? Forgiveness! Amen? Of course, Amen.
Bulletin Board:
A good thought – A man is never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.
Thoughtful definition from Beth and Don: ‘Taking care of business’ means maintaining loving relationships with family and friends. So, readers; take care of business every day and in every way. They could make a song out of that.
How about this one – “There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb, there is power, power, wonder-working power, in the previous blood of the Lamb…”
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, we do not fear what this day may bring our way because we know you have created it for us. Help us to do what needs to be done, and to relax in your sovereignty. Even though we may walk through the valley of impatience, boredom and stress of the unknown, we will fear no evil, for you are with us. We pray for forgiveness of the sins, known and unknown, we have committed. Grant us the strength and grace to extend love and forgiveness to others and to ourselves. The rod lf your Word and the staff of your Presence, they comfort us. With gratitude, we sit at your table, Lord, finding peace and calmness in the communion with You throughout this day. Thank you. Amen.
