TEACH US HOW TO PRAY – THE LORD’S PRAYER PART 2 

“And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us.”

• Luke 11:4 (ASV)

The first part is often easier that the second. We see our flaws and failings. We know that we need a Saviour, but for some reason the releasing of forgiveness for those who may have hurt, betrayed or wronged us seems so much harder.

We have been set free by the power of forgiveness, but often still live as prisoners because we find it so difficult to release that to others.

If you have ever seen The Lord of the Rings movies, I think there’s a clear image of what unforgiveness can do to us – Gollum. We can hold on to things for so long that they become part of us, a kind of comfortable dis-comfort, our ‘precious’.

As with the character, unforgiveness can deform us, consume us and skew our perspectives if we allow it to. A friend once said that unforgiveness is like a ball of fire, the longer we hold it, the more it hurts us.

Let it go.

It causes cracks and chinks in our defences that the enemy can exploit, causing an irritating itch in our spirits and dis-unity.

Let’s not allow that comment or action of someone else to eat at you from the inside out. As you pray, allow God to heal that wound as you release forgiveness over your situation and walk into the freedom that awaits.