P.R.A.Y
PAUSE
REJOICE & REFLECT
ASK
YIELD
Personal Worship
Today we consider the cost of unforgiveness.
Together we will pray (P.R.A.Y.) each day – ‘P’: Pausing to be still as we come into the presence of the Lord. ‘R’: Rejoicing as we remember who our God is and what He has done, and Reflecting on His word. ‘A’: Asking God to help us and others. And ‘Y’: yielding to His will in accordance with His word.
As I come before you to pray, I still my thoughts and quiet my mind. I seek to make you the center of my focus.
Prayer of Approach
When I come to you and your word, Lord, I come (albeit subconsciously) with preconceived thoughts and notions about who you are and how you feel about me that are also, perhaps, shaped by my experiences. I don’t want any of those things to change or affect the way I hear or receive your truth today. So, please help me this day to both see and then set those things aside so that I can hear you more accurately and clearly. And help me to believe everything I hear and every word I read in your scriptures and to trust that you will meet with me here and transform my heart as I seek to align it with yours.
I choose to rejoice, with all God’s people, in the powerful promise of forgiveness that God gives us in Psalm 32…
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
Psalm 32:1-5
As you read the passages below, ask the Lord to cause a word or phrase to stand out to you.
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:14-15
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25
As I reread the passage, I reflect on the questions, “How is my life touched by this word?” and “How does this passage connect with my life?”
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:14-15
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25
Most of us have probably heard that, ‘Unforgiveness is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.’ Well, according to Jesus, that’s kind of how it works with unforgiveness. The person who ends up getting poisoned, is us! And he wants better for us!
Our first scripture comes directly after Jesus’ teaching on the Lord’s prayer, where, among other things, he instructs us to ask God to “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” When, after that teaching, he then says, “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses,” he does not have in mind our initial experience of forgiveness through which we are once and for all, finally, fully and eternally saved and justified by faith. Rather, he is speaking of our day-to-day relationship with God which must be restored after we have sinned against him and displeased him. (See Ephesians 4:30, which tells us that unconfessed sin grieves the Holy Spirit and interrupts our relationship with God. See also, Isa. 59:1-2). In other words, when it comes to unforgiveness, as Theologian Wayne Grudem says, “God declares that he will distance himself from us until we forgive others.” In fact, Jesus directs us in Mark 11 to work out our issues with others before we come to pray.
And, yes, this directive includes even the most difficult and painful things that have happened to us and others. God has forgiven us the whole weight of all of our sin against him, and God also has our own good in mind (i.e., the rat poison adage). He also frees us from any need on our part to exact vengeance on others by telling us that we can trust him to repay those who hurt and offend us (Romans 12:19-21). If you have been wronged in some way that continues to bind you, please let an elder, pastor or prayer team member help you be free of it!
And let’s not forget the “little” wrongs. We are called to daily forgive people who carelessly wrong us with their thoughtless words or actions. Let us remember that we are to be people who love others (Matthew 22:39) and our judgments, irritations, and unloving thoughts toward others are subtle sins that rob us of the fullness of God! Let’s not sacrifice the presence of God by holding on to petty wrongs!
Lord, help me to see (and feel) the importance you place on forgiveness, along with the perils of the anger, bitterness and resentments that come with unforgiveness. As I examine my life now, help me to also remember all of the things that you have forgiven me for.
My God and Father, I understand that you meant prayer to be the great power by which your church should do its work. It is when we ask, not only for ourselves but also for others, that you answer and heavenly blessings are brought to earth. What a wonderful privilege it is to partner with you to have your kingdom come! So today, I ask that you would bring revival, first into my heart, as I seek to align myself rightly with you, and then into my home, neighborhood, workplace and the world!
As I read the passage for the final time, I listen for how the Lord is inviting me to respond to him. Where in my life do I need to yield in obedience to what he has for me?
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:14-15
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25
Yielding Prayer
Heavenly Father, I come before you with the bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness that you’ve identified in this time with you. I recognize that these emotions hold me captive.
I ask for your forgiveness and for the strength to forgive those who have wronged me. Please help me to release the weight of anger and hurt, and fill my heart with your love and peace.
Holy Spirit, I invite you to work within me, bringing freedom from the chains of bitterness. Transform my heart, renew my mind, and lead me on a path of healing and reconciliation. I surrender my pain to you, trusting that your grace is sufficient for all things. May your peace, which surpasses understanding, guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Yielding Promise
And now, as I move into the day ahead, the Lord who loves me tells me in 2 Corinthians 12…
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
Closing Prayer
Lord, enable me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love you today with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to serve you today, by loving and caring for others as I do my own self; and, to exalt you today, by telling the people in my world about the abundant and eternal life found only through faith in Jesus.