When you stand praying, forgive! By James Lantz
It is an awesome privilege to be made right with God through believing in Jesus and the finished work that He accomplished through His death, suffering, and resurrection! This was unheard of, that God would sacrifice the life of His Son for sinful man. God did the impossible, He reversed the eternal curse for everyone who will receive His Son. Our rejoicing is to spring forth from God’s goodness in accepting us into His family for all of eternity! Luke 10:20 NKJV Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. It is very precious to have been received into the royal family of the Almighty God. Our Father in heaven is our protector, our corrector, and our provider. We are not orphans without a Father’s help. Rom. 8:32 NKJV He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Notice this says with Him (The Word) that the Father freely gives us all things! If we refuse our Father’s instruction we forfeit our Father’s provision and protection. ( Ps. 91:14, Deut. 28 :1&2, Pro. 1:22-33, Pro. 4:20-22, Mt. 7:1, John 14:21, Acts 3:23, 1 Cor. 11:31, Heb. 12:9 ) Come unashamedly before your heavenly Father and ask Him for those things you have need of in the name of Jesus and the answer will not be no. Heb. 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Let’s not waste this privilege that has been given us as sons and daughters of the most High God and ask for what we need and desire. There are only two reasons that cause God’s children to fail to receive from their Father in prayer. James, in his epistle, declares that either you didn’t ask or you
Refusing to forgive is refusing to love!
didn’t ask correctly. Heb. 10:19-22 CEV My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself. We have a great high priest who is in charge of God’s house. So let’s come near God with pure hearts and a confidence that comes from having faith. Let’s keep our hearts pure, our consciences free from evil, and our bodies washed with clean water.
Jesus highlights one particular sin in Mark eleven that will absolutely quench your faith and disqualify the believer from receiving an answer to their prayer. Refusing to forgive is refusing to love, and faith can not work without God who is love. Mark 11:25 NKJV “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. Mk. 11:26 NKJV But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” This is a spiritual law, we reap what we sow! If we desire to reap forgiveness from God we must sow forgiveness to others. We are commanded to love God and love people! Since we have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus we have the ability and the assignment to love as Jesus loves. John 13:34 CEV But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. Not only are we to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ but we are to love our enemies and pray that God will be gracious to them. Mt. 5:44 CEV But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Jesus came preaching forgiveness to the repentant one, the kingdom of God is to be entered into, and faith. The law and the prophets were until John but Jesus brought the message of grace! It is grace that says whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, love your enemies, and let him that has no sin cast the first stone. Study the sermon on the mount and realize that Jesus was preaching grace. You have heard it said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to those that hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. Unforgiveness is certainly not the only sin that blocks us from receiving the answer to our prayers but it is the most prevalent sin. Unforgiveness, like judging others, is often suppressed until the light of God’s word shows it up. Carnal people’s favorite subject is to talk about their problems and your faults.
To forgive is a choice and an action that wise people do. Refusing to forgive is like swallowing poison with the hope that the one you refuse to forgive will die. The one who refuses to forgive is the one who does not get their healing, and dies before their time. Unforgiveness can only be spotted by those who are honest with themselves. When someone does us wrong or we perceive that they did us wrong what kind of thoughts are we allowing ourselves to think about that person. Understand that even after we have forgiven someone our enemy, Satan, and the flesh will endeavor to get us to think evil and undo our forgiveness with our words and actions. Foolish people place no value on God’s command to forgive and fail to realize the tremendous blessing and grace of God they are forfeiting. Dishonest people judge God as being unfaithful instead of acknowledging their own bitterness from what someone did or didn’t do to them years ago. God would rather have people lift up their hands to Him, forgive and do right so they can be healed and not have to be turned out of the way. Hebrews 12:14&15 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. The word of God will bear fruit in anyone who will cleanse their heart. Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Cleanse the inside and then the outside will be clean!
Cleansing the heart is a joint effort by Jesus and the believer!
Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. God’s people are made clean through the washing of the water of God’s word! If believers confess their sins to God He will forgive them and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure will become special. Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, and they will be able to do all kinds of good deeds. ( Mt. 23:25&26, 2 Cor. 7:1, Eph. 5:26, 1 John 1:9, 2 Tim. 2:21)
When we have forgiven someone who has repented we forget about it and never bring up their sin to them again. We treat that person as if they had never sinned against us. Now they may have to regain your trust before you give them certain responsibilities again but that does not mean that you hold it against them. There is scriptural protocol to follow in dealing with blatant sin in the church but in this lesson we are mainly dealing with keeping our own heart pure before God. Repentance is a precious gift to the errant one so that their right standing with God may be restored! If you have been withholding your love from God or others you can repent by faith right now. Repentance is a choice and the feelings of love will follow our obedience and God’s blessing will be ours!
