Sample Forgiveness Prayer

Here is the sample forgiveness prayer I mentioned yesterday at the end of our study for morning worship. Keep in mind this is not some kind of magical formula. It's an example of a prayer that takes into account the major points we studied about forgiveness. The idea is to pray a prayer like this whenever you feel yourself welling up with anger over an offense, real or imagined, committed against you. In other words, strong feelings of displeasure or hostility over something someone has said or done to you serve as a signal that it's time once again to chose the path of forgiveness rather than vengeance, vindication, or unilaterally breaking off the relationship.

Dear Lord,

I lift up to you this offense against me. I commit myself by faith in Jesus to Your system of justice. Therefore I give up my right to express my anger through vengeance or revenge, my pursuit of vindication, or through breaking off the relationship. In this way, strengthen me to forgive, to pursue peace and trust, and to be open to reconciliation.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.