Set Free!

Matt.6:14-15 [MSG] “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part”

Do yourself a favour and forgive for your own sake. I love to see the power of God at work. Some years ago, I met this lady that had shingles all over her body and for a lady that is a major issue. My friends had set up a prayer session for her and so I joined in. As the prayer session was heating up, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, “Tell her to forgive her father”. So I stopped the prayers and told my friends what I thought God was saying. So we tried to carefully break it to her but as soon as we mentioned her father, it was like a demon took over and her countenance literarily changed.

The first thing she said was, “so this is why God is punishing me?” And then she began to list all the horrible things her father had done. She was determined not to forgive her father and resolved to die holding onto unforgiveness. If this was God’s way of punishing her then so be it! Question – did the man do all the horrible things she listed? Yes he did and they were totally wrong. But it is the person that refuses to forgive that experiences the demonic attacks. Her father was probably enjoying his life in the village while she was carrying the trouble. As long as you hold on to un-forgiveness, you are holding yourself down.

Jesus makes this truth very graphic in Matt.6:¹² “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us…¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins”. Forgiveness is even tied to answered prayers. When you forgive the people that have hurt you the deepest, you become healed and your Heavenly Father can hear you. Whose advantage is it to have God hear you clearly? But when you refuse to forgive, you rob yourself. Lewis Smedes says, “Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free, only to discover that the prisoner was you.” When you forgive, you are setting yourself free. But when you refuse to forgive, you are choosing to never be free. But you are going to be free, in Jesus Name.

Thought: Who do you need to forgive? Do it for your own sake.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please search my heart and reveal every unforgiveness and lead me to forgive completely for my own sake, in Jesus Name. Amen!