Forgiveness Prayer

Wow! It's been a long time--almost a month, in fact, since I last wrote in the blog! I love doing this, though sometimes it overwhelms my schedule just a bit. Anyway, I'd like to use today's entry to share "the prayer of forgiveness" I suggested to everyone in our study of that topic a couple of Sundays ago. The prayer goes like this:

Dear Lord, I lift up to you this offense against me. I commit myself by faith in Jesus to your system of justice. I believe that Jesus paid for this offense when he suffered and died on the cross. Therefore I will not demand payment of any further penalty. In this way, strengthen me to forgive, to pursue trust and peace, and to be open to reconciliation. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The key to using this prayer effectively does NOT lie in making sure you say these exact words. The sentiment is important, but the specific wording of the prayer is not intended as having some kind of mystical power. The key here is to express the sentiment represented in this prayer whenever you feel yourself getting angry in response to an offense, whether that offense occurred in the distant past or is ongoing. The prayer is intended as a means of reminding us of how important it is to commit ourselves to God's system of forgiveness as well as to a generous application of God's system to people around us. These commitments should be strong enough to effectively release us from anger and to thoroughly prepare us for loving interaction with the offender and subsequent steps in the biblical process toward a restored relationship.

Some really great Scriptures to keep in mind as we pray in relation to this first step in the process are: Ephesians 4:32; Psalm 130:1-3; Matthew 6:12-15; and Matthew 18:21-35.

Tomorrow, I plan to write more on James 3:2, which is one of the verses we looked at this past Sunday in the emphasis on gracious speech.