Have a Forgiving Spirit

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15

God has so arranged the Christian life that our relationship with Him is inseparably linked with our relationships to others. That is especially evident in His criteria for our prayer lives: “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there...and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering” (Matthew 5:23-24).

God wants His people to demonstrate a forgiving spirit because of its influence on our relationship with Him. Keeping our hearts right with our Heavenly Father, thus, involves cultivating honest and loving relationships with one another. There will be some who simply refuse our offer of reconciliation. If that is true, we must trust God for the outcome while maintaining our willingness for restoration.

This aspect of prayer also helps ensure that we are expressing and living our faith in a practical way. We cannot shut ourselves in the prayer closet and then treat others badly who are made in the image of God. Keeping a forgiving spirit is a source of accountability before God as well as an instrument of peace with man.

“...be at peace with all men.” Romans 12:18