The next example of our Lord Jesus in "The Lord's Prayer" that we will discuss is in regard to forgiveness as a critical element of our communication and relationship with our God. It's a reference to a spiritual posture and mandatory core element of our lives before Him.
The proof of the importance of this elemental necessity abounds in the Word of our Lord. The essence, or spirit of this statement to be included in prayer is something He later demonstrated in discussion with His disciples. In the following passage Jesus more fully demonstrated the reality of our situation in relationship to our Heavenly Father and the necessity of what our posture toward others should be:
Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT), 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" 22 "No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven! 23 "For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn't pay, so the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26 But the man fell down before the king and begged him, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' 27 Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 "But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient and I will pay it,' he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full. 31 "When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him what had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny. 35 "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart."
There can be no doubt that the King in the above passage represents our Heavenly Father and that we - every one of us, is represented by the first debtor. Our debt is the weight of our own offenses - our sin, our iniquity, transgressions and trespasses. Some of which is inherited and some of it being the product of our own actions and even our thoughts. According to scripture, none are excluded from this debt:
Romans 3:23 (NLT) "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard."
The payment to be exacted to satisfy the debt is the eternal torment and permanent death of our existence in relationship to/with our Father God. But be certain that you keep in mind the fact that it's not God's choice that will determine whether the payment is to be exacted, or instead that the debt be forgiven. That choice is ours. He desires that we choose His mercy, but as I've mentioned in other places in the past, there is always a prerequisite, or condition that He's told us about in advance that we must comply with in order to receive what He's offered and promised. The choice to comply and walk in the power and life of His Word or suffer the foretold consequences - is always ours. He is indeed our loving and merciful Father, but never forget that He is also the awesome and terrible Judge. Bound by His own righteousness, justice, Word, etc., He will judge accordingly. But He's made provision for us to escape the price of that judgement. Who we stand before at the end of this life, whether it be our Father or the terrible and righteous Judge ... is completely our choice.
Our Father God has hidden nothing from us. Before we were born, He laid out the path that we must follow in order to walk in His favor and promise. This is the path that His great heart desires us to follow. He's laid it all out in His Word and He's embedded it in the nature of creation around us. But in order to obtain all that He's promised, something is required of us - we must actively choose to follow that path - to obediently follow His direction. If we fail to act, then by default we not only deny ourselves all that is ours by the offering of our loving Father, but we risk facing the judge.
Even in our prayers, our compliance with His direction, not just in our words, but in truth and spirit as well, may well determine whether they're received with the favor and activated promises of our Father or by the righteous and knowing judge who detests hypocrisy. For now, I'll leave you with these thoughts and two more scriptures that are also interwoven into this theme of forgiveness and prayer.
Mark 11:24 - 25(NLT) 24 "Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. "
Colossians 3:13 You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
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