Day 4: Journey of Prayer

Journey of Prayer

Day 4

Thursday, January 7, 2021

And forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12

We all know the story of Adam and Eve. They started out with a pure, open relationship with God. He was their Creator, their Father, their Constant Companion. But when sin entered the picture, suddenly there was this massive separation between them from God.

Jesus is the Lamb, the perfect sacrifice for all sin. Now we can “...come boldly to the throneof grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:16. As the Lord’s Prayer tells us, we just have to ask God to “forgive our debts [our sins]” and He does.

Jesus once told a parable about a servant who owed his master a large sum of money, which he was unable to pay. The servant begged his master to forgive the debt, which he did. That same servant went to a fellow servant who owed him a small amount and demanded to be paid. When the fellow servant could not pay, the selfish servant threw him into debtors’ prison. Word got back to the master that the very person whom he forgave the massive debt had thrown someone else in prison for not paying a small debt. The master was furious. He confronted his ungrateful, unforgiving servant and tossed him in prison. As sinners, we are in the position of the servant who owed a massive debt to his master. When we experience God’s amazing forgiveness through Jesus Christ, God expects us to “pay it forward.” We are forgiven. We are expected to forgive those who sin against us just as God forgave us.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t put a limit on how often we should “forgive our debtors.” He only instructed us to forgive 77 times. This seems strange until we realize that Jesus was not using 77 as a finite number. In Hebrew tradition, 7 is the symbol of perfection or completeness. When Jesus said, “77 times,” He really means for us to keep on forgiving until the forgiveness is complete—or until we hold no resentment or anger against that person. In other words, we are to forgive as Jesus forgave those who wronged Him.

Dear Lord, sometimes it is so hard to truly forgive the people who have hurt us. Please make us aware of when we are holding grudges, when we are hanging on to that thread of unforgiveness and telling ourselves that we have the right to be bitter or angry—because we don’t. Let us be so grateful that You have forgiven us that we naturally and intentionally choose to forgive those who sin against us. In Jesus’ Name and for the Father’s glory. Amen

For further reading: Hebrews 10:19-23; Matthew 18:21- 35; John 1: 29-34