Forgiveness & Prayer
I am intrigued by the relationship between forgiveness of others and our own forgiveness by the Father. In the last few weeks of Bible Study, I have come across whisps of this in various forms:
"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
"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
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." -Matthew 7:1-2
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV)
Clearly, there is a connection between our judgment and compassion toward others and the Lord's judgement and compassion toward us. Honestly, that's scary. I know there are pieces of my heart where I still need to forgive others.
Forgiveness is a tricky thing. Like "love," I suspect that it is more than an emotional feeling. I struggle with how to forgive people who are not sorry or repentant.
Here's a "psychological" perspective on likelyhood of forgiveness. In the flesh, I'd say it's fairly accurate:
However, I suspect we are called to be less "clinical" in our approach....our "predictor" should be that God forgave us and that as recipients of that grace, we should extend it to others.
The Wikipedia entry on forgiveness is fascinating as it details the perspective of forgiveness from various faith perspectives: Judiasm, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam. There are commonalities between them and also strong differences.
" If we nurse a harsh, vindictive attitude toward others, we cannot expect God to hear and answer us. We must forgive if we are to be forgiven. This does not refer to the judicial forgiveness of sins at the time of conversion; that is strictly a matter of grace through faith. This refers to God's parental dealings with His children. An unforgiving spirit in a believer breaks fellowship with the Father in heaven and hinders the flow of blessing." -bbc
"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
"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
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." -Matthew 7:1-2
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7 (NIV)
Clearly, there is a connection between our judgment and compassion toward others and the Lord's judgement and compassion toward us. Honestly, that's scary. I know there are pieces of my heart where I still need to forgive others.
Forgiveness is a tricky thing. Like "love," I suspect that it is more than an emotional feeling. I struggle with how to forgive people who are not sorry or repentant.
Here's a "psychological" perspective on likelyhood of forgiveness. In the flesh, I'd say it's fairly accurate:
However, I suspect we are called to be less "clinical" in our approach....our "predictor" should be that God forgave us and that as recipients of that grace, we should extend it to others.
The Wikipedia entry on forgiveness is fascinating as it details the perspective of forgiveness from various faith perspectives: Judiasm, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam. There are commonalities between them and also strong differences.
" If we nurse a harsh, vindictive attitude toward others, we cannot expect God to hear and answer us. We must forgive if we are to be forgiven. This does not refer to the judicial forgiveness of sins at the time of conversion; that is strictly a matter of grace through faith. This refers to God's parental dealings with His children. An unforgiving spirit in a believer breaks fellowship with the Father in heaven and hinders the flow of blessing." -bbc
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