And forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. Matthew 6:12
It is clear throughout Scripture, starting with the book of Genesis, that God is a relational God. He delights in having relationships with each one of us. He also created us to have relationships with each other. Because God is a relational God, He invites us to talk to Him about the relationships in our lives, beginning with our relationship with Him and then extending to our relationships with others. Part of praying about the relationships in our lives means asking for forgiveness from God for how we have hurt Him and the people around us. When we come to Him for forgiveness, He readily offers forgiveness and restoration.
Jesus addressed the relationships in our lives as He taught about prayer in Matthew 6 by calling us to confession. In this passage of Scripture, He taught listeners to pray these words to God, "Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" (verse 12). This is the point at which Jesus calls us to examine how we have offended Him and others, and to confess our sins to God. Now, confession does not always come naturally. Most of us do not like to reflect on our shortcomings and mistakes, feeling overwhelmed by our sins and mistakes. Others of us do not see our sins as grievous as they are because we rank them as "not so bad" on the imaginary sin scale that some of us have made. The truth is, all sin breaks God's heart. All sin separates us from God. God calls us to confess our sin and tell Him we are sorry. Some of these sins are specifically directed against Him, while others are directed against Him and other people in our lives. We must seek restoration. First, we turn to God, confessing our sins and acknowledging our wrongdoing. Then, we repent to others and apologize for hurting them. Because God has graciously forgiven us, we must also be quick to forgive.
Confession is not easy, but it is always worth it. We were meant to have a deep relationship with God and others, and confession is the first step toward restoration when we have sinned. What sin do you need to confess today? Turn to Him. 1st John 1:9 promises us that, “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
Moving Toward Action
In your prayer today, confess your sins against God and the people around you. Tell Him that you are sorry for how you have broken His heart and sinned against Him. Commit to letting go of your sin and following Him instead. Ask Him to restore the broken relationships that have been impacted by your sin and for the strength to offer forgiveness to those whom you have hurt.
Going Deeper – 1st John 1:1-10
1In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
6 God sent a man, John the Baptist, 7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. 8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him.
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