A Good Prayer To Say For Forgiveness

Forgiveness is not an easy thing to offer. That is why it is always good to pray to God when we find it hard to forgive someone. The good thing is that the Bible never really tells us to forgive others on our own, relying on all of our strength. Grace is always available for those who acknowledge that forgiving someone is difficult. Forgiveness is a process. That is why we must continue to pray and depend on God as we work on being able to forgive someone completely and sincerely. 

Heavenly Father, I thank You because everything is possible with You. What is hard for me is easy for You. Therefore, even if I find it hard to forgive someone, through You, I know that I can forgive someday. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Why Do We Have To Pray To Forgive?

We must pray when we forgive someone because it is a difficult thing to do. If you can forgive someone without any difficulty, by all means, forgive and seek restitution with the person who has offended or hurt you. However, if what the other person did to you is something deeply painful, like a betrayal, or spoken words that have deeply hurt you, abandoned or rejected you, most of the time, it is difficult to forgive because the wounds that have been caused are profound.

That is precisely why we must pray to forgive. On our own, it will be difficult to forgive, however, we can do so through Christ, who strengthens us (I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13). If we humble ourselves and acknowledge that we find it hard to forgive someone, then we can come to God in prayer in utter dependence on Him and His grace. The good thing is that in Christ, we can be confident that we can come before God’s throne of grace and ask Him for grace and mercy in times of need (Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16). Clearly, when we are hurt and find it difficult to forgive someone, what we need is the grace to be able to forgive.

 

We must pray to forgive because forgiving those who have offended us is God’s will. In the Bible, we are commanded to be kind to them, compassionate, and tenderhearted. We forgive them just as God forgave us in Christ (And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32). In (Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Colossians 3:13); it is said that we must bear with them, and still, the apostle Paul appeals from the truth that we are to forgive just as God forgives us because of Christ. We are to show them goodness and mercy instead and not repay the evil that they have done to us with more evil (Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9).

 

 

We want to forgive and pray that we will be able to do so, despite being hurt, because we realize that we are also sinners who offended God but were forgiven. After all, He sent His Son to die as a propitiation for our sins. Not only that, but He adopted us as His children sanctified us, and gave us grace and upon grace in Christ.

How Can We Pray To Say Forgiveness?

We can pray by kneeling before God’s throne of grace and asking Him for the grace we need to forgive the person who has hurt us. Grace is what we need in order to do that which we cannot do alone. You can also pray and ask God for strength, and, in your prayer, remind yourself that you can only forgive the person not by your own strength but by Christ’s. In your prayer, you can also remind yourself of the Gospel, how by God’s grace and mercy you were also forgiven by God. Show the same compassion and love towards that person who has hurt you.

It is not only the grace of God that moves us to forgive, but also the reminder that we are ourselves forgiven beings.

Heavenly Father, you know what this person has done to me and why forgiving them is difficult. However, I want to obey You, and I know that I am also a forgiven person. You chose to show grace and mercy. Help me do the same, Father, and give me the grace and strength I need to forgive. Instead of harboring hate, may my heart release forgiveness, love, grace, and mercy towards this person. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Just because God asks you to forgive does not mean that the hurt others have done to you is invalidated. God will handle justice and vengeance. However, that is something that God will do and not us. Our job is to forgive, love, and bear with those who have hurt us. Choosing to forgive others or working on forgiving others, despite the difficulty, is something that a mature Christian is willing to do. We grow in maturity and Christlikeness when we choose to forgive.