Will you pray today? The opportunity to communicate with your Creator is an incredible blessing. By all means, approach him as Father in heaven (Matt 6:9). Draw near to his throne of grace with confidence (Heb 4:16). Cast your anxieties on him, knowing that he cares for you (1 Pet 5:7). Through Christ, you’ve been given the gift of amazing access to the throne room of heaven. Realize and appreciate how undeserving each one of us is of that gift.
Just don’t forget to do what Jesus said to do as you pray today.
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25)
Do you trust the heart behind those instructions? Days after delivering them, Jesus practiced what he preached. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). In the practicing, he left us an example.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1 Pet 2:21-23)
He suffered, he left the example, and he continues to call through passages like Mark 11:25–“Now, follow in my footsteps.” However difficult they may be to apply, his words aren’t difficult to understand. Whenever you pray, forgive. If you have anything against anyone, forgive. That your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses, forgive.
Is there someone you need to forgive today? Is there something you need to finally lay down and leave behind? Take Jesus at his word. Entrust yourself to the same One who judges justly. That burden of bitterness and resentment on your back is a hard weight to carry, isn’t it? It’s most certainly not worth becoming a barrier to your prayers and drowning your life in the process.
Your Father in heaven sees and hears and knows. He is just and merciful. Patient and holy. Steadfast and gracious. Keep entrusting yourself to him, even when the people around you are not. Hide in his heart. Practice what he preached. Follow in his footsteps.
Whenever you pray, forgive.