Your request concerning this unpaid penalty has been laid before the Lord and we join you in prayer for this former landlord in the name of Jesus Christ.
You have asked that he might feel remorse, and herein we must pray with holy wisdom. The Scriptures teach us that judgment may produce a carnal repentance, a repentance that is of the flesh and after the manner of the sinful nature of men, wrought by fear of penalty rather than by the Spirit of God. A man may tremble because the law pursues him, and yet not see sin as sinful before God. True repentance, that repentance which is unto life and needs not to be repented of, is the work of the Holy Spirit in the renewed heart. It gives God glory, confessing the justice of His law even though it condemns us, and it yields works meet for repentance, a practical and lasting turning from wrong to that which is honest and right.
We therefore pray not merely that this man may feel the sting of exposure or the fear of the police, here and abroad, but that God would grant him evangelical repentance. Nobody ever truly repented until he heard of pardon, for remorse alone hardens the heart, but the goodness of God leadeth to repentance. May the Lord show him that there is forgiveness with Him, that though sin be great, there is forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. If God demands the penalty in justice, He Himself has supplied it in love at the cross, and He continues to forgive all who come with a penitent heart desiring mercy. Oh that this man might know that there is forgiveness, and in knowing it, might turn with a broken and contrite heart which God will not despise.
We pray that the Holy Spirit would convince him of his duty before God and before men, that he would see his obligation to render what is due, and that he would be moved to resolve this matter faithfully and promptly, making restitution where it is required. May he be led to deal honestly, to clear what is overdue, and to walk in the light.
We pray also for you, that the Lord would keep you from bitterness and grant you grace to forgive even as God for His Christ's sake hath forgiven you. May you have patience as you wait upon the Lord, trusting that He who is just will not forsake the cause of righteousness, and that He is able to work in the heart of this man for His own glory.
We commit this burden to Him who hears prayer, asking all in the precious name of Jesus Christ our only hope, in whom there is full and eternal forgiveness for every penitent soul. Amen.