Pray for Forgiveness

"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matthew 6:15, NKJV)

One of the items about prayer that we discussed last night at our Wednesday evening service was the need to ask for forgiveness. Asking God for forgiveness of our sinful actions restores our “familial” relationship with God (Hebrews 12:3-11).

Another benefit to daily confession of sin is that it should remind us to forgive other people. In this life we will encounter many situations that are not resolved properly. Bitterness over a past relationship gone wrong can cause much personal harm in the present. It is no coincidence that Matthew 6:15 follows the Lord’s Prayer.

A key element of the Lord’s Prayer is a request for God to “forgive us” (6:12). This request for forgiveness is tied to the manner in which we forgive other people. If we cannot forgive other we should not ask God to forgive us.

If you are having a difficulty in granting forgiveness to your fellow man confess that sin and pray that God would give you the grace to offer forgiveness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear." (Psalm 66:18, NKJV)

Prayer of Penitence

"pray without ceasing,"

(1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV)

In addition to our special time of prayer this evening we will also be discussing prayer. Last week we emphasized that one of the elements of our prayer life should be our praise to God. Tonight we will discuss another essential element in prayer, our penitence towards God. By penitence we mean a repentant heart that asks God for forgiveness of sin.

Some may wonder why Christians need to regularly ask for forgiveness since all our sins are already forgiven in Christ (Romans 8:1). For the Christian, asking for forgiveness is necessary because even though our positional relationship with God as sons and daughters is not in jeopardy, our paternal relationship can be affected (Psalm 66:18). The solution to reestablishing our relationship is in confession of sin.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NKJV)

If you plan to join us this evening for our prayer and Bible study time you may want to spend a few moments reviewing Hebrews 12:3-11 to prepare for our discussion time.