{"id":1934,"date":"2023-01-13T08:56:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T14:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/?p=1934"},"modified":"2023-01-17T08:59:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T14:59:05","slug":"forgive-me-and-help-me-forgive-the-lords-prayer-for-daily-sin-desiring-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/13\/forgive-me-and-help-me-forgive-the-lords-prayer-for-daily-sin-desiring-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgive Me and Help Me Forgive: The Lord\u2019s Prayer for Daily Sin | Desiring God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Great way to start out the new year from the folks we respect at Desiring God!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you were teaching the Lord\u2019s Prayer to someone for the first time \u2014 a child, a neighbor, a co-worker, or friend \u2014 which line would you feel the most need to explain?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9\u201313)<\/p>\n

As you rehearse those familiar lines, which one begs for more explanation? Maybe it\u2019s the first, Why do we call the God of the universe \u201cFather\u201d? Or perhaps the second, What does it mean to \u201challow\u201d something, much less a name? What about the will of God \u2014 what is it and how would we recognize it on earth? Or that haunting last line, What kind of evil is surrounding and threatening us?<\/p>\n

However we might answer, we have Jesus\u2019s answer to the question. He chooses to say more about just one line, and it\u2019s not the one many of us might think.<\/p>\n

Do You Pray for Your Sin?<\/h2>\n

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he started with the kingdom of God, the will of God, and the glory of God \u2014 you can almost hear the replies, Amen! Amen! Amen!<\/i> And then, as suddenly as he entered the manger, he climbed down into the nitty-gritty of our earthly lives: \u201cGive us this day our daily bread . . .\u201d Give us all we need for today<\/i>. Who could refuse such provision?<\/p>\n

The next line, however, may have been more jarring:<\/p>\n

. . . and forgive us our debts,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0as we also have forgiven our debtors.<\/p>\n

When you pray, Jesus says, remember how you have offended God. Remember how you\u2019ve failed him again today, how far short you have fallen of his kingdom, his will, his glory \u2014 and then ask him for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Whatever else you pray, he teaches, make sure you pray for this. Each day that you wake up, you will need to eat and you will need to be forgiven. Your stomach will rumble and your soul will rebel. So pray and live accordingly.<\/p>\n

Hunger Pangs of the Heart<\/h2>\n

Most Christians pray daily for bread (if not for God to provide it before it comes, then to thank him once it\u2019s on the table). How many of us, however, pray as persistently for our sin as we do for our meals? Why might that be?<\/p>\n

Well, for one, because we viscerally sense our need for food. We ache. We may be able to skip meals here and there, but not many and not for long. And when we do, our bodies let us hear about it. We take it for granted, but there\u2019s a magic tying our brains to our intestines, telling us when we need to eat. We don\u2019t have to constantly record what we eat to survive; our bodies push notifications when it\u2019s time for lunch or a snack or a drink of water. We\u2019re less likely to forget food because our hunger eventually shouts over everything else.<\/p>\n

For various reasons, though, we often have a harder time hearing the rumblings of our sinful hearts. The heart has its own voice, but it doesn\u2019t physically overwhelm us like hunger can. The pangs of the heart reveal as much or more as hunger, but we learn to live with them. Restlessness. Anxiety. Irritability. Sluggishness. Impatience. Grumbling. If we notice them at all, we learn to excuse them instead of addressing them.<\/p>\n

The symptoms of remaining sin are saying what Jesus clearly taught: We need to be forgiven \u2014 and far more often than we want to acknowledge. The prayer, \u201cForgive us our sins,\u201d is an honest, gracious, and daily reminder of a constant need.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t Forgiveness Finished?<\/h2>\n

We also might not pray more often for forgiveness, though, because we assume we\u2019ve already been forgiven. If our debt is already paid in full, why would we need to keep asking God to forgive us? When Jesus died on the cross, he announced that his atoning work was complete: \u201cIt is finished\u201d (John 19:30). So why would he teach us to pray as if forgiveness was somehow an ongoing need?<\/p>\n

Justification<\/i> \u2014 full acceptance with God, through faith alone \u2014 is not a new need each day, like our need for daily bread. If you\u2019re justified by grace through faith today, you do not need to be re-justified tomorrow. \u201cSince we have been justified by faith,\u201d Romans 5:1, \u201cwe have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d Since we have been<\/i> justified, we have peace with God \u2014 and that peace isn\u2019t undone by today\u2019s or tomorrow\u2019s sins. \u201cThere is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus\u201d (Romans 8:1). Eternal condemnation isn\u2019t a weed that creeps back into the garden overnight. For those truly in Christ, it\u2019s dead and gone for good.<\/p>\n

Still Jesus teaches us to pray (and keep praying), \u201cForgive us our debts.\u201d Why? Because justified sinners are still sinners, and sin still disrupts our communion with God. Sin cannot damn the truly justified \u2014 their debt has been canceled, their curse lifted, their wrath removed. That doesn\u2019t mean sin isn\u2019t offensive or damaging to relationships<\/i>, including with God. By regularly asking for forgiveness, we draw the finished work of Christ into today\u2019s temptations and failures \u2014 and we renew and sweeten the fellowship we enjoy with him because of that finished work.<\/p>\n

We see this dynamic when James exhorts us, \u201cConfess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed\u201d (James 5:16). These believers have already been justified, but they\u2019re still sinning and still feeling the awful consequences of sin, which leads them to pray, confess, and ask for forgiveness. And as they pray, they push back the painful havoc sin causes. In this case, they\u2019re healed.<\/p>\n

How Not to Be Forgiven<\/h2>\n

We still haven\u2019t heard Jesus explain this line in the prayer, though. After he finishes the prayer, he specifically returns to the petition for forgiveness:<\/p>\n

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14\u201315)<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t dig further into God\u2019s will or shed light on the dangers of evil; no, he impresses on them how spiritually urgent it is that they<\/i> forgive. He warns them that their prayers \u2014 all their prayers for everything else \u2014 will fall on deaf ears if they harbor bitterness and withhold forgiveness. The warning\u2019s baked directly into the prayer: \u201cForgive us our debts, as we also have<\/i> forgiven our debtors.\u201d The prayer for God to forgive presumes we\u2019ve already done forgiving ourselves \u2014 so have we?<\/p>\n

At least as often as we\u2019ll need to eat, we\u2019ll need to be forgiven. And almost as often as we\u2019ll need to be forgiven, we\u2019ll need to forgive. And we won\u2019t be forgiven if we don\u2019t go and do likewise. So who do you need to forgive? We cannot pray the rest of the Lord\u2019s Prayer in any meaningful way if we refuse to forgive like he does.<\/p>\n

Forgiveness Makes Prayer Possible<\/h2>\n

Jesus\u2019s simple prayer reminds us that our sin problem is a daily problem. Every day, we do what we shouldn\u2019t and don\u2019t do what we should. We say what we shouldn\u2019t and don\u2019t say what we should. We think what we shouldn\u2019t and don\u2019t think what we should. The Lord\u2019s Prayer exposes the rotten leftovers of our mutiny against God. And it reminds us, as often as we pray, that God still forgives \u2014 even today, even you, if you\u2019ll humble yourself and ask him to.<\/p>\n

Jesus didn\u2019t say, \u201cRemember your sin and wallow in shame and guilt.\u201d No, he taught them to bring their sin and expect forgiveness in return. And why could they presume to be forgiven? Because, he knew his wounds would soon make this kind of prayer possible. He didn\u2019t just teach them how to pray; he would die to give their prayers life and power before the throne. Even before he received the nails, the thorns, the beams, he was teaching his friends how to receive the cross.<\/p>\n

So, when you pray, plead boldly for forgiveness in the name of Jesus. And before you pray, forgive like God so gladly forgives you.<\/p>\n

This content was originally published here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Great way to start out the new year from the folks we respect at Desiring God! *** If you were teaching the Lord\u2019s Prayer to someone for the first time \u2014 a child, a neighbor, a co-worker, or friend \u2014 which line would you feel the most need to explain? \u00a0 Our Father in heaven,hallowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8kHU7-vc","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/forgive-me-and-help-me-forgive-sruggj0f-8cd302c6c2f4820ebd3ab5ccf80ea6a3.jpg?fit=2000%2C1050","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1934"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1937,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1934\/revisions\/1937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thelight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}