Yesterday we spoke on asking God for forgiveness. Today we are going to speak about forgiving others. Forgiving others is extremely important as a believer.

We are called to forgive as we have been forgiven for our sins. Forgiveness is an opportunity to glorify God out of the abundance of the forgiveness we have already received. Furthermore, the forgiveness we received was at the cost of Jesus. While it is freely given to anyone who chooses to receive the gift of eternal life, the death of Jesus was the cost. The appropriate response is full devotion. Full devotion includes obedience and offering forgiveness to others is part of being fully devoted to Christ.

Additionally, forgiveness is extremely important in our relationship with God. How can we sincerely come to Him asking for forgiveness for ourselves if we do not forgive others? God’s forgiveness is conditioned on your forgiveness of others. Since we all need God’s forgiveness regularly, we must not withhold it from others. If we do, we’ll lose out on fellowship with God.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace, and the power of forgiveness. Even when I've felt ashamed of falling short of Your standards, You have forgiven me time and time again and always blessed me in spite of my mistakes. With that said, Father, I pray You help me to forgive anyone who has wronged me. I release that grudge against them Father, and choose to walk in fellowship with You. Please give me the spirit to be kind and compassionate in forgiving others just as You forgave me. In Jesus' name, Amen.