Downloads from the Lord: Forgiveness
I referenced Mark 11:25 in the previous blog post, where forgiveness is mentioned as an essential part of our life. Here is that entire Bible passage, (verses 20-25 for context), to refresh our memory:
Mark 11:20-26 (NIV)
20In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” 22“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. 25And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Many people, including myself, have tried to discern the meaning of the withered fig tree story, and how it fits in with the rest of the passage. Spoiler Alert… I’m not going to concentrate on that portion of the passage for this post. I’m instead going to focus on verse 25, and how it ties in with the preceding verses.
In verses 20-24, Jesus is demonstrating to His disciples that if we only believe, anything is possible through prayer. The fig tree being a powerful, physical demonstration of that fact. So… back to verse 25 and how it fits in with verses 20-24.
Jesus is pointing out here that the answers to all our prayers hinge on one thing… FORGIVENESS! We must forgive to be able to receive the forgiveness of the Father! Without the forgiveness of the Father, our prayers are not as powerful as they can be, because the power for answered prayer comes from the Father.
Verse 22 says “Have faith in God” and your prayers will be answered. It dawned on me that the only way to achieve that kind of faith from the Father is to forgive others so He can forgive me! I’m not talking about salvation here; that is sealed by the shed Blood of Jesus! I am talking about un-forgiveness in our heart that can block the awesome power of answered prayer from Father God!
As we forgive others, the Father removes the blockage of un-forgiveness from our heart. Our faith will then continue to grow to the place where we will see more and more answers to prayer, just as Jesus said! Think of it this way… The Holy Bible says that God is LOVE:
1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.
It’s impossible to be a person of love and harbor un-forgiveness at the same time. God desires for us to extend love because He is Love, and His love is made complete in us! Amazing!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any un-forgiveness in my heart and mind to block the forgiveness of the Father, and therefore, block the answers to my prayers! You may want to say a prayer similar to what I’m going to pray:
Precious Heavenly Father, You are awesome in Your Love, Power and Forgiveness! May your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven! May your name be glorified in all the earth!
Please help me to see and identify any un-forgiveness I may have, aware or unaware. Then I can allow You to help me deal with it and bring forgiveness to the situation. I realize I’m not condoning what happened as acceptable; I’m just extending forgiveness to clear the way for You to forgive me. Please enable me to be a person of love and forgiveness. Help me to be more like Your Son Jesus, who forgave us while we were still sinners! (Romans 5:8)
In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen