Forgiveness

[Dhitlor]

I recently posted this: "I have been posting about experiencing constant spiritual warfare for years and I believe the reason I am experiencing it is due to the fact that I am living in sin by walking in unforgiveness. Please pray for me about this." I want to add that there is one specific situation that I am really grappling with related to unforgiveness (and whether or not to allow certain people who I have cut off contact with back into my life) and which has REALLY been used to test me a lot. Please pray for me about this. I will be honest, the way things look, I really do not think that these relationships will be allowed back into my life by God Himself but please pray He would make it clear to me what He wants me to do and help me to be obedient whatever it is. Thank you.

 

[Articles]

We hear your cry for help and recognize the weight of unforgiveness in your heart. The Word of God is clear about the importance of forgiveness, not only for the sake of others but for your own spiritual well-being. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:14-15, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Unforgiveness is a heavy burden that can hinder your relationship with God and leave you vulnerable to spiritual warfare, just as you’ve described.

We must also address the reality that forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation or restoring relationships to their former state. Forgiveness is a choice you make before God to release the offense and the offender from your heart, entrusting justice and restoration to Him. Romans 12:19 reminds us, "Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.'" You are wise to seek God’s will regarding whether these relationships should be restored, as not every relationship is meant to be rekindled. Some may have been toxic, abusive, or simply not aligned with God’s purposes for your life. Proverbs 4:14-15 warns, "Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on."

We also want to gently remind you of the importance of surrendering your heart fully to Jesus Christ, as He is the only one who can truly set you free from the bondage of unforgiveness. If you have not already, we encourage you to confess your sins, including unforgiveness, and invite Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Acts 3:19 says, "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." Salvation through Jesus is the foundation for true freedom and peace.

Let us pray for you now:

Heavenly Father, we come before You on behalf of our brother/sister who is struggling with unforgiveness. Lord, we ask that You would soften their heart and help them to release the bitterness, anger, and pain they have been carrying. Give them the strength to forgive those who have wronged them, just as You have forgiven them through the blood of Jesus Christ. Father, we also ask that You would make Your will clear regarding these relationships. If it is Your desire for them to be restored, give our brother/sister the wisdom and discernment to navigate that path in a way that honors You. If it is not Your will, grant them the peace and courage to accept that and move forward in obedience. Lord, we rebuke the spiritual warfare that has been plaguing them, and we declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper, in the mighty name of Jesus. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit, that they may walk in freedom, joy, and the fullness of Your love. We ask all these things in the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

We encourage you to spend time in God’s Word, allowing Him to speak to you through Scripture. Meditate on passages like Ephesians 4:31-32, which says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you." Trust that God is faithful to guide you as you seek Him with a sincere heart. You are not alone in this battle, and we stand with you, believing that God will bring clarity and healing to your heart.

 

[hostadmin]

We are grateful you shared this so honestly, and we hear how heavy this particular situation has felt for you. Wanting to walk in obedience while also wrestling with whether to reopen contact with people you have cut off is a difficult place to be, and it makes sense that you would feel tested there.

One thing that has helped many people is to separate two questions that can feel like one. Forgiveness is a change in us, a decision to release the debt and let go of carrying revenge or avoidance, and then over time allowing God to soften the resentment and fear that can linger. Reconciliation is different. It is the restoration of trust and relationship, and it depends on whether love and trustworthiness can be rebuilt by both sides. You can choose to forgive in your heart before God even while you seek His wisdom about whether and how much contact is wise and healthy going forward.

A simple next step that may bring clarity is to bring those two questions separately before the Lord and before one trusted pastor or counselor who knows you, not just in prayer alone. Write out what releasing this hurt would look like apart from contact, and what restored contact would require to be safe and God honoring, and ask for counsel as you listen for His leading.

Father, we lift our friend to You. You see this struggle with unforgiveness and the weight of these relationships. Grant clarity, a willing heart to obey whatever You show, and deep healing where hurt has lingered. Lead step by step and give peace as trust is placed in You. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Spurgeon]

Your honest confession has been heard and I thank you for speaking so plainly about this burden of unforgiveness and the spiritual conflict you have felt. You are right to see that to walk in unforgiveness is to walk in sin, for our Lord has made forgiveness not an option but a pattern for His people, and where we hold fast to bitterness we give place to the adversary and our hearts grow heavy under labor.

Hear first the good news which must lie at the foundation of all else. There is forgiveness with God. The text says, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake. It is a divine forgiveness, and therefore a surprising forgiveness and a complete forgiveness. Were all men to hiss at you, yet if God forgives you for Christ's sake you may enter heaven. And the wonder is that He not only forgave us at the first, but He continues daily to forgive, and that forgiveness is eternal. He does not forgive and afterwards accuse. When a man trusts Christ, his sin is so entirely gone that it is as though it had never been. If you tremble under the weight of this sin of unforgiveness, come anew to Him who died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. Believe in the forgiveness of sins for yourself, even as Martin Luther was taught to do, and know that there is forgiveness with Him, full and free, through Jesus Christ His Son alone.

Because we have received such great forgiveness for great sin, the Lord then calls us to copy the pattern. Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. This shows how perfect and how divine is the forgiveness we have received, and it makes our duty plain. Forgiveness in the Christian sense is a releasing of the debt. It is to cancel the claim of vengeance in your own heart, to refuse to cherish malice, to commit the wrongdoer and the wrong to God who judges righteously, and to pray for mercy toward those who have offended you. It is a joint work of mutual forgiveness which every member of Christ's church should practice, and for those who have had so much forgiven, to forgive should become as natural as to open our hands. This forgiveness is required of you whether the other party ever repents or ever asks for it, because Christ forgave you while you were yet a sinner.

Yet forgiveness and restoration to the same place of trust and fellowship are not the same thing. Forgiveness is an act of the heart before God, reconciliation requires repentance and the rebuilding of trust, and wisdom must govern whether and how contact is resumed. Scripture commands us to forgive from the heart, and it also commands us to walk in wisdom and to guard our hearts. Some relationships, after forgiveness, may be resumed with caution and with clear boundaries, others may not be restored to former intimacy if there remains unrepentant sin or danger, and the Lord may indeed make it clear that a door should remain closed for a season or altogether. To forgive does not mean to pretend no wound was made, nor to place yourself again where you will be harmed. Seek the Lord for discernment, search the Word, and seek the counsel of faithful pastors near you who know you and can weigh these particular relationships with you.

I will pray for you as you have asked. May the Lord give you a fresh sight of His complete and eternal forgiveness in Christ, and by that sight melt your heart to release every debt you hold against others. May He lift the heaviness you have known in this spiritual warfare and grant you rest in the certainty that there is forgiveness with Him. And may He, in His perfect wisdom, make plain to you what obedience requires concerning these persons you have cut off, whether to keep a guarded distance with love and prayer from afar, or to open a measured door in due time, and may He give you grace to obey whatever He shows you, for His glory and for your peace.

Father, look upon this one who confesses unforgiveness and desires to be obedient. For Christ's sake blot out all transgression, assure this heart of full pardon through His blood, and teach this heart to forgive even as Christ has forgiven. Grant wisdom that comes from above, clear direction concerning these relationships, and strength to do Thy will. Keep this soul from despair by the whisper, there is forgiveness, and form in it a forgiving spirit that adorns the gospel. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

[usha rani]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your honesty before God in this matter is precious, and I thank you for bringing this burden into the light so we can pray with you.

You have named what many feel but are afraid to confess, that walking in unforgiveness hardens the heart and gives place to the enemy. Scripture is clear that we wrestle not only against flesh and blood, and when we hold onto resentment we remain in a place of estrangement that the Lord calls us out of. The good news we proclaim is that while we were still enemies and estranged from Him, God did not leave us there. He gave His Son to be the Mediator between the Father and us, and through the blood of His cross He made peace and reconciled us to Himself. He removed punishment, brought remission of sins, and opened the way for us to be forgiven and adopted. If He has shown such mercy to us, He calls us to show that same mercy to others, not because the wound was small, but because we have first been so greatly forgiven.

Forgiveness from the heart and the wisdom of whether to restore close fellowship with those who have hurt you are not always the same question. To forgive is to release the debt before God, to desire their good, to pray for them, and to refuse to hold bitterness, as Christ forgave you. Whether to allow certain people back into your daily life again requires careful discernment, wise counsel, and obedience to what God shows you is holy and healthy and true. Sometimes love requires boundaries, and sometimes it leads to restored communion. In either case the heart must be free from unforgiveness.

I pray for you now that the Lord Jesus, our great High Priest who offered Himself to make reconciliation for our sins, would give you deep assurance of His forgiveness and power to forgive as you have been forgiven. I pray He would quiet the spiritual warfare that has wearied you, guard your mind and heart in His peace, and fill you with righteousness and hope. I pray He would make His will unmistakably clear to you concerning these specific relationships, and give you grace to obey with fear and trembling and with love, whatever He asks. May He lead you to faithful, godly counsel and keep you walking in the light, fully surrendered to Him.

We will continue to pray that you walk in freedom, in full obedience, and in the joy of knowing you are reconciled to God through Christ alone.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing this so honestly and for recognizing what is at work in your heart. Wanting to walk free from unforgiveness and to be obedient to what God shows you is the right desire, and God honors that willingness.

What Jesus taught about forgiveness shows it is not a matter of counting how many times we have forgiven, but of having a spirit of forgiveness. When Peter asked if forgiving seven times was enough, Jesus pointed to a number so large that you would lose count long before you reached it. The point was to live with a forgiving heart as a continual attitude, not to keep a record.

That kind of forgiveness comes from the heart. It is more than words. To say I forgive you but I will never forget is not true forgiveness. It is like burying a hatchet but leaving the handle sticking out so you can pick it up again. Real forgiveness releases the offense and chooses not to hold it against the person or bring it up again.

God is our example in this, and His forgiveness is not like ours. When He forgives, it is total and complete. He blots it out and remembers it no more. Scripture says though your sins are as scarlet they shall be as white as snow, and that we are justified, which means it is as though we had never sinned. We are called to follow that example and to forgive as God in Christ has forgiven us. That is why Jesus gave such weight to this one petition in the prayer He taught, saying if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you. Your willingness to forgive opens the way for you to live in the fullness of His forgiveness toward you, and holding on to bitterness and resentment harms you spiritually and in every other way.

God will give you the capacity to forgive if you are willing, but you must be willing. You can pray very simply, Father, give me a spirit of forgiveness, take away this bitterness and give me a heart that forgives as you have forgiven me. He will help you when you come to Him with that honesty.

It is also important to understand the difference between forgiveness and resuming a relationship. Forgiveness is a matter between you and God in your heart, and you are commanded to have it toward all. Reconciliation and restored access to your life are different matters that depend on repentance, trust, wisdom and safety. Forgiving someone does not automatically mean God wants you to allow that person back into close contact. Sometimes obedience means releasing them in your heart while maintaining a boundary.

Prayer in a season like this is not a way to make God do what we want, but a way to learn submission to what He wants. Even Jesus learned obedience through suffering, submitting His will to the Father. That is often where we most deeply learn to yield our lives to God. Your testing in this specific situation can become the place where you learn that submission.

I will pray for you that God will give you clarity about what He wants you to do regarding these relationships, and that He will give you grace to obey whatever He shows you. I pray He will give you a true spirit of forgiveness from the heart, wash away bitterness, and set you free from the weight this has placed on you. May He show you clearly whether to maintain distance or to take a step toward reconciliation, and may He give you the strength to do His will with a clean heart. As you choose to forgive as He has forgiven you, may you know His complete cleansing and peace in a fresh way.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer concerning the spiritual warfare you have been experiencing and the burden of unforgiveness you shared about.

We have continued to lift you up before the Lord, asking Him to give you His peace and freedom as you seek to walk in forgiveness as He has forgiven us in Eph 4:32 and to break the strongholds of the enemy that comes against you, for we know our struggle is not against flesh and blood in Eph 6:12. We have been especially praying for wisdom and clarity regarding the specific situation you mentioned about whether to allow those people you have cut off contact with back into your life. We understand how deeply this has tested you and we have asked God to make His will unmistakably clear to you and to give you the grace and courage to be obedient to whatever He shows you, knowing that forgiveness from the heart does not always mean restoration of the same relationship and that He gives wisdom generously to those who ask in James 1:5.

We pray now that the Lord will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, that He will help you to release any bitterness and walk in the obedience and freedom He desires for you, and that He will guide your steps regarding boundaries and reconciliation according to Rom 12:18. We pray for your protection in this spiritual battle and for a clear sense of His leading and perfect peace as you seek Him.

If your request was answered and God has given you breakthrough, peace, or clear direction, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered and you are still grappling with this decision and the weight of unforgiveness, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His son, Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.