prayer and forgiveness part 1

the diciples asked Jesus to "teach us how to pray" and Jesus gave them the Lord's prayer. it says


Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever., Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Jesus did 2 things here. first he gave a great outline for prayer. this was not, as the catholic church teaches, something to repeat mindlessly. this was an outline for effective prayer.

Mat 6:9 ---- open your prayer by giving God the praise that he is due.

Mat 6:10--- next, pray for God's will to be done in your life.

Mat 6:11--- pray for your needs and concerns for the day. in other words, God would like to hear from you EVERYDAY.

Mat 6:12 --- ask for forgiveness, and for God's help to forgive others

Mat 6:13--- ask for God to lead you away from temptation. and when you are foolish enough to not follow His lead, that he will give you strength to withstand temptation. then, end in praise.

after Jesus gave them this outline, if you read on, you'll see that He only came back to ONE point. in Mat 6:14-15 He spoke of forgiveness.

to me, that speaks pretty loud. He thought that of all the things He'd just spoken of, forgiveness was most important.

who are we to withhold forgiveness, knowing what we have been forgiven for, and at what cost. my friends, bitterness is a bitter pill indeed. harboring unforgiveness will eat a hole through the center of your soul. i heard it said once that holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. HOW TRUE IS THAT?

when you keep these things in, all you do is put a lid on a pot of boiling water. it may look safe from the outside but what happens to you on the inside? you can't think about them without getting upset. you can be out with your family, having a great time, then run into them and your entire time with your family is ruined.

you see, mercy and grace were created for those who don't deserve mercy or grace. they mean that you give up your right to revenge. that you chose to forgive when you are not in the wrong.

i'm not naive. i know that some things are more difficult to forgive than others. but trust me, i know from experience. and i also realize that i am not God. and neither are you. there is no such thing as forgive and forget. we can't forget. all we can do is learn. but, if you can't forgive, you're giving up a piece of your heart and soul for something that you don't want anyway. so go ahead. scream. cry. give someone a hug. whatever it takes to let it go. then live.

stay tuned for part 2.