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Details about Forgiveness:
 FORGIVENESS
Lack of forgiveness blocks access to the
kingdom and to miracle power. “Therefore, if
you are offering your gift at the altar and
there remember that your brother has
something against you; leave your gift there
in front of the altar. First go and be
reconciled to your brother; then come and
offer your gift” (Mathew 5:23-24). “For if
you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins”
(Matthew 6:14-15). “Then Peter came to Jesus
and asked, Lord, how many times shall I
forgive my brother when he sins against me?
Up to seven times? Jesus answered, I tell
you, not seven times, but seventy-seven
times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is
like a king who wanted to settle accounts
with his servants. As he began the
settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand
talents was brought to him. Since he was not
able to pay, the master ordered that he and
his wife and his children and all that he
had be sold to repay the debt” (Matthew
18:21-34). As you read this you see this man
begged for forgiveness, received it, but
refused to forgive another who owed him only
a small amount. The result was a complete
forsaking of all mercy towards him. “And
when you stand praying, if you hold anything
against anyone, forgive him, so that your
Father in heaven may forgive you your sins”
(Mark 11:25).
The first person you probably have not
forgiven is yourself. More people have a
lack of forgiveness toward themselves than
toward anybody else. They are unwilling to
forgive themselves and to recognize that God
says, “As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions
from us” (Psalm 103:12). If you are a
believer, He has already cleansed your
conscience from dead works so that you might
serve the living God. God cleanses us (for
service) so that we are not left with the
guilt of past sin. That should be dead,
buried, and forgotten.
People must forgive all who need
forgiveness. If the first person you need to
forgive is yourself, you need to say, “God,
before You, I forgive myself. Whatever I
have done, I accept Your forgiveness, and I
forgive me.” That’s a very simple but
profound statement, because as long as we
feel that we are under condemnation, we will
never have faith to see miracles.
“If our heart does not condemn us,” the
Bible says, “we have confidence toward God”
(1 John 3:21). Obviously, we cannot have
continuing sin in our lives and expect
forgiveness. We have to be free from ongoing
conscious sin and rebellion against God. But
if we are walking in the light, and walking
in forgiveness, then the blood of Jesus
Christ is continuously cleansing us from all
sin (See 1 John 1:7).
The second person we have to “forgive”, if
we have bitterness, is God Himself. There
are people who blame God because a child
died, because a husband ran away, because
they have been sick, because they have not
had enough money. Consciously or
unconsciously they think all of these things
are God’s fault. There is deep-seated
resentment; yet you cannot be resentful
toward God and experience miracles. You have
to rid yourself of any bitterness toward
God. That may take some soul-searching. You
must ask yourself, Am I blaming God for my
situation?
The third person you may have to forgive is
a member of your family. Critical words
spoken can wound a marriage or relationship.
Your words can be used to defeat your loved
one or defeat the enemy. Resentment grows
out of criticism. You have to get rid of
resentment, especially toward those closest
to you. The husbands, the wives, the
children, and the parents – all must be
forgiven when slights and resentments have
built up in family situations. Many people
say, “Well, I didn’t think that counted. I
thought that was just a family matter.” All
lack of forgiveness has to be eliminated,
especially toward every family member.
Finally, there has to be forgiveness for
anybody else who has ever done anything
against you. It may be that your resentment
is justified. The person may have done a
very evil, terrible thing to you. You may
have every legal and intellectual right to
hold a grudge and to hate that person. But
if you want to see miracles in your life, it
is absolutely imperative that you forgive.
Forgive them to the point where you actually
feel yourself cleansed of resentment and
bitterness and are actually praying for
them. If you do not, the lack of forgiveness
will make it impossible for God to forgive
you. Every miracle depends 100 percent on
your relationship to God the Father. That
relationship is built strictly on the
strength of His forgiveness of your sin.
Forgiveness is the key. Other sins can be
present, and if your heart condemns you for
something else, then of course, you do not
have confidence before God. But it is lack
of forgiveness that most often comes between
people and God.
TWELVE STEPS TO FORGIVENESS
You may say, “I can’t forgive this person
because he hurt me so badly.” Yes, the pain
is real. Nobody has really forgiven someone
without admitting the hurt and the hatred
involved. But until you forgive that person,
he will continue to hurt you because you
have not released yourself from the past.
Forgiveness is the only way to stop the
pain.
Here are 12 steps you can use to walk
through the process of forgiving someone who
has hurt you. Following these steps will
help you unchain yourself from the past and
get on with your life:
l. Write on a sheet of paper the names of
the persons who hurt you. Describe in
writing the specific wrongs you suffered:
for example, rejection, gossip, lack of
love, unfairness, physical, verbal, sexual
or emotional abuse, hatred, etc. Ask the
Lord to reveal to your mind specifically who
you need to forgive from your heart. Some
names may come to your mind that surprise
you or that you have forgotten.
Of the hundreds of people who have completed
this list, 95 percent put father and mother
as the first two. Three out of the first
four names on most lists are close
relatives. The two most overlooked people
for these lists are God and you. God doesn’t
need to be forgiven, but we sometimes hold
false expectations of God that lead us to
anger or bitterness toward Him. We also need
to forgive ourselves for weaknesses and sins
that God has long since forgiven.
2. Face the hurt and hate. Write down how
you feel about these people and their
offenses. Remember, it is not a sin to admit
the reality of your emotions. God knows
exactly how you feel, whether you admit it
or not. If you bury your feelings, you will
bypass the possibility of forgiveness. You
must forgive from you heart.
3. Realize that the cross of Christ makes
forgiveness possible, fair and right. Jesus
took upon Himself all the sins of the world
- including yours and those of the persons
who have offended you, and He died “once for
all” (Hebrews 10:10).
4. Decide that you will bear the burden of
each person’s sin (see Galatians 6:1, 2).
This means that in the future you will not
strike back at the person by using the
information about his sin against him (see
Proverbs 17:9; Luke 6:27-34). We are to take
the burden of offenses against us just as
Christ took the burden of our sins.
5. Let the other person off the hook and
free yourself from the past. You may not
feel like making this decision. But since
God tells you to, you can choose to forgive.
The other person may truly be in the wrong
and in need of discipline or correction, but
that is not your primary concern. You will
gain your freedom by forgiving. If you don’t
forgive, you will be bound to that person.
6. Take your list to God and pray the
following; “I forgive (name) for (list the
offenses).” Let God bring to the surface
every remembered pain. Stay with that person
until every rejection, injustice, abuse,
betrayal or period of neglect is
specifically identified. Then go on to the
next person. If you have felt bitter toward
this person for some time, you may want to
find a Christian counselor or trusted friend
who will pray with you about it (see James
5:16).
7. Destroy the list. You are now free. Do
not tell the offenders what you have done.
Your forgiveness is between you and God
only! The person you may need to forgive
could be dead, such as a grandparent who
abused you. It doesn’t matter. You still
need to forgive.
8. Do not expect that your decision to
forgive will result in major changes in the
other persons. Instead, pray for them (see
Matthew 5:44) so they too may find the
freedom of forgiveness (see Galatians 5:1,
13, 14).
9. Try to understand the people you have
forgiven. They are victims also.
10. Expect positive result of forgiveness in
you. In time you will be able to think about
the people who offended you without feeling
hurt, anger or resentment. In many cases
your forgiveness may result in your
relationship being restored. In some cases
this may not happen if they don’t want the
relationship restored.
11. Thank God for the lessons you have
learned and the maturity you have gained as
a result of your decision to forgive the
offenders (see Romans 8:28, 29).
12. Be sure to accept your part of the
blame. Confess your failure to God and to
others (see I John 1:9). Realize that if
someone has something against you, you must
go to the person (see Matthew 5:23-26).
PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS AND REPENTANCE
NOTE: Any sin, unforgiveness, fear or guilt
will undermine your faith to receive God’s
provisions and blessings.
PRAY ALOUD:
“My Heavenly Father, I acknowledge any
unforgiveness as sin. I exercise my free
will and choose to obey your commandment
regarding forgiveness. I am willing to
forgive everyone who has sinned against me
or hurt me in anyway. I receive Your
supernatural power to forgive. Now, in the
Name of Jesus, I do forgive_____________.”
Deliberately name them one-by-one --
releasing each person to God. If you can’t
remember names, hold their faces before you,
and say, “I forgive ______and ______ in the
Name of Jesus. Father, I release them all to
you -- the incidents of hurt, my painful
memories, and the persons involved -- I give
all of them into your care; I receive Your
healing in my memories, in Jesus’ Mighty
Name. Father, if I ever felt resentful for
my sufferings, though I know you did nothing
wrong, I forgive You God, in Jesus’ Name.”
“My Heavenly Father, I acknowledge my fear
(worry, anxiety) as the sin of idolatry
because I allowed the object of my fear to
be greater than You. I ask Your forgiveness,
in the Name of Jesus. I receive Your
forgiveness and I now forgive myself. I
command you spirit of fear (worry, anxiety)
to get out of my life, in the Name of Jesus.
“Father, I also repent of all my sins of
commission, omission, any ungodly deeds,
attitudes and relationships (take time to
name them). I receive Your forgiveness and
now I forgive myself, in Jesus’ Name. I
thank You, Father, You have erased (blotted
out - Col. 2:14 and Isa. 43:25) all of my
sin record from Your Book of Remembrance, by
the precious Blood of Jesus.”
(Meditate on this truth).
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