4 - LORD'S PRAYER - the Servant's Petitionsનમૂનો

06 – As We Forgive…

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12, NIV)

“Forgive us our debts”—as we’ve already said—may be the most important words we ever speak. But “as we forgive our debtors”… these may be the hardest words we will ever have to live out.

Putting them into practice in daily life is anything but easy. Some difficult questions press in on us: Have I truly forgiven those who have wronged me? Is there a hidden bitterness in my heart that quietly eats away at my soul? Do past wounds still cut me on the inside like an unhealed infection? These questions deserve our honest reflection, because they often lie buried beneath the surface of our actions. And more often than not, we try to justify or ignore them when God brings them to light. Sadly, many who recite this prayer have yet to forgive others. They still cling to old debts—and have no real intention of canceling them.

But here’s the piercing question: How can we approach God and ask Him to forgive us if we are unwilling to forgive our brother or sister? That would only be possible if we came to Him in hypocrisy. And God sees through all hypocrisy. Jesus taught that what matters most is not outward appearance but the inner posture of the heart.

God knows my true self—my motives, my hidden thoughts, my unspoken desires. He weighs my character far beyond what others can see on the outside. From childhood, we become skilled at pretending—saying one thing while thinking another, smiling while secretly holding on to resentment. And while we may succeed in fooling others, we can never deceive the Spirit of God who lives within us.

If we choose to pray this prayer, then all pretense must come to an end.