Pray for Our Daily Pardon-Forgive Us

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

The second petition instructs how we ought to pray concerning ourselves. This petition is an explicit prayer for forgiveness, "forgive us our debts or sin," "as we forgive our debtors. Between Matthew and Luke's account and the different translations that we read. It says forgive us our sin and debts.

Debts refer to unfulfilled obligation toward God and our fellow human beings, that is those things we have left undone. For example: We should have reached out in compassion our neighbor but have failed to do so which makes our love for God incomplete. James 4:17 knowing the good that we ought to do but not doing

James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Sins - things that we ought not to have done

In the Aramaic, Jesus uses the word "khoba" which means both debts and sin.

Believers are caught between unfulfilled responsibilities and acts committed that are not in harmony with the will of God. It is for these things that we are to ask for daily forgiveness/ or pardon.

The matter of forgiveness is of such importance that it is the petition in which our Lord later took the time to reemphasize and develop in depth. Later in Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus says,

Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your"

Many of us are conscious of our need for daily bread, but are utterly unconscious of our need for daily forgiveness. If we are sincere when we pray "forgive us our debts," or "forgive us our trespasses," then we are openly admitting ourselves as guilty of wrongdoing, of sin. Some falsely presume that because when we are saved we have no further need to ask for forgiveness or confession of sin.

This of course, is not the case.

1 John 1:8-9
8 "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

(NKJV) Disciples can and do still sin and thus stand in need of daily confession and forgiveness.

When we acknowledge our sinfulness we echo the words of David, recorded in Psalm 51(verses 2, 10, 17)

Psalm 51:2,10,17
2 "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin….
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me….
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise." (NKJV)

* We need daily cleansing. It needs to be remembered that this is a "family prayer"

* It concerns the sins of the children of God, which hamper our fellowship with the Father.

* Although we receive forgiveness when we were saved we will never be able to fully enjoy cleansing in our Christian walk unless we are ready to extend it freely to those who offend us.

Here is the challenge as we have forgiven. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

- As we have asked for forgiveness, it is the understanding that we have already forgiven others.

- We come before God in humility asking him to something for us that we have already done for others.

We can often struggle with forgiving because we don't comprehend just how much we have been forgiven. But also forgiveness is difficult emotionally given the wrongs that some of us have endured. And sometimes we struggle to forgive because we have an incorrect view of what it means to forgive.

a) We think it means "it's ok what you did to me"

b) We think we are releasing them from the consequences of their wrongdoing

c) We think it means we have to forget it ever happened and that any negative emotions we feel must be replaced with feelings of joy-God wants us to be at peace.

d) We may feel that we are somehow validating the injustice and permitting it to continue

e) We may feel like we are communicating that it does not matter that you wronged me, "it's ok what you did to me"

Forgiveness is not ignoring, disregarding, tolerating, excusing, overlooking, or closing one's eyes to the sin of another person. It is not simply letting time pass after the offense has been committed and then "getting over it." It is not resigning one's self to the other person's sinful actions by saying, "Well, that's just the way s/he is and I'm stuck with her/him for life, so I'll just accept it." It is not letting things "roll off our backs" or agreeing to make a "fresh start" without confronting the problem.

Forgiveness has nothing to do with these things. It is mainly for the forgiver. We withhold forgiveness because we think that somehow in that we can achieve justice.

Jesus gives us a perfect example of forgiveness on the cross

- Jesus, our savior, was beaten mocked, betrayed, abused, spit on and more

- On the cross he prayed. Father forgive them

- Neither Pilate, nor Jews, nor Romans had repented or ask for his forgiveness yet he forgave them

- There was no anger, no bitterness no malice of vengeful spirit as Jesus prayed on the cross

- That is the spirit that we are to ask God for forgiveness.

- We are to both understand what God has done for us and totally depend on him as the one who is to avenge.

- That means that we have to……..have

Daily forgiveness of my wife if she hurts me.

Daily forgiveness of my brothers or sister who have hurt me intentionally and unintentionally.

Daily letting go of bitterness, anger, malice in my heart

He did not tell the disciples that they could pray, "Lord, forgive me my trespasses and I will try to forgive those who have wronged me." He told them that when they had forgiven others they could then claim their own forgiveness. The truth is; No one ever wrong you as you have wronged God. In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus told the parable of Unforgiving Servant to illustrate this point.

Matthew 18:23-35
23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'
27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

The point is that we are to marvel at how the first servant could be so unforgiving to his fellow servant's debt. After being let off for so much how could he be so mean and cruel. Let us not go to God with that same spirit.

Ray Stedman tells the story of one man's explanation for his lack of forgiveness. He said, "A man once said to me, 'I know I'm a Christian, but someone once did an awful thing to me - something I just can't forget or forgive.' I replied, 'Are you sure you can't forgive him?' He maintained that he had really tried to forgive this man, but was unable to do so. As we continued talking, I said, 'I know, I have found that we often use the word can't what we really mean is won't. Isn't possible that what you are saying is not, "I can't forgive him,' but 'I won't forgive him?' If it is really true that you cannot forgive this man, and then it indicates that you yourself have never been forgiven and you are only kidding yourself about being a Christian.' This shook him a bit. He thought it through and then, with a rather sheepish grin, he said, 'I guess you're right. I guess I won't.' It wasn't long before he came to me and reported with joy that he had finally forgiven the man who had injured him." [Ray Stedman. Talking With My Father. (Grand Rapids; Discovery House, 1997) p. 73

When God's grace comes into our lives it makes us forgiving. We demonstrate whether we have been forgiven by whether or not we will forgive. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."