The Lord's Prayer Part 4 - Richard Maisenbacher

Continuing our discussion regarding The Lord's Prayer, let's look in Matthew 6:12, the next verse in this prayer - "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Forgiving others and ourselves has always been challenging for the Body of Christ. We usually have excellent reasons to hold on to our unforgiveness. However, complete forgiveness is the very relationship we enjoy and embrace from Christ. In addition, there also seems to be some significant physical healing that takes place for the one who forgives!

Forgiveness includes asking for and releasing forgiveness to God, others and ourselves. And when one apologizes forgiveness does not mean that everything goes back to normal as if nothing ever happened. God gives us the grace to forgive. I have found if I am having difficulty forgiving, I am in need of His wonderful grace to help me. However, sometimes because of the depth and variety of the abuse, restitution, safety and appropriate boundary setting need to take place before trust can be restored.

Here are a couple prayer examples that may help you get started when true/honest  forgiveness seems to be impossible.

"I release to You/Father my anger and disappointment resulting from knowing that my perception and understanding are limited by my own viewpoint of why You allowed a particular situation to occur. You have a greater purpose beyond my understanding, so please forgive me and help me to understand Your ways."

"I allow Holy Spirit to flow through the bitterness and disappointment in this situation and release Your 'river' of forgiveness to flow our and through me because the Spirit of Christ leads the way. I can release forgiveness because of the forgiveness You have released to me. Thank you for producing peace again within me and my other relationships."

The Lord's Prayer Part 3 - Richard Maisenbacher

As we continue reflecting on The Lord's Prayer, let's look at Matthew 6:11 which states: "Give us this day our daily bread."  We are reminded in this one sentence that our basic daily needs come to us from heaven one day at a time. Planning and setting goals for our future is good, but apprehension for tomorrow can result when we take our eyes off His provision for today. Jesus shared His cure for anxiety when He spoke in Matthew 6:25: "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?" And in Matthew 6:34 He reemphasizes and concludes His message with one final thought: "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." 

When we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" our belief structure may be challenged as to whether His daily bread is a gift of God or a daily expectation. In Matthew 6:33 if we assume that we will "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; all these things will be added" to us, our faith increases and we trust in Him and our relationship with Him. On the other hand, if after praying we choose to posture ourself with a demanding attitude that He will now meet our need, we have chosen a relationship based on demand and one's right, rather than a relationship founded on love and trust.

This part of the Lord's Prayer becomes a reminder that we are a part of a covenant God who keeps His word to those He is in covenant with. He loves us and He looks for ways to bless us in our relationship with Him. Therefore, we love Him and look for ways to please Him by following Him and His ways. As this process of love and trust increases, we quit looking for ways to minimize the uncertainty of life by trying to control everything in our future. We then can rejoice that He meets our needs through this intimate relationship of prayer one day at a time, while our worry dissipates right before our eyes.