“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” We say these words every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Looking in the Bible we find Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 contains the words that Jesus instructs His disciples to pray to His Father. As we so often pray those words, do we really realize what we are actually saying to God!?

Forgiveness is not usually an automatic response when we are wronged!! Hurt, anger, revenge, withdrawal…these are more automatic responses. Holding a grudge, striking out verbally, spreading rumors are far more automatic than forgiveness.

So maybe we need to ponder and meditate on that sentence in the Lord’s prayer before we so quickly say it next time. Is that really the way we want God to forgive our sins? Or would we rather He extend love and mercy to us when we sin. As a matter of fact, haven’t we often taken for granted that God does forgive us… After all, we are not big sinners, are we. Certainly, He showers us with love and mercy. But because we are human and not perfect, we all sin. We may not have committed murder, but we may have damaged someone with our words or alienation. Let us look at our-selves prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to help us to forgive those who have hurt us. Ask Him to show us who we need to forgive or extend love and mercy to…what relationships we need to repair. Let us pray that rather than reacting negatively, we react with compassion towards someone who has hurt us. Let a spirit of forgiveness stir in our being more quickly, thus allowing us to react with love and mercy. Then maybe we can more freely pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” the next time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Let us be thankful that God forgives us and that we have the opportunity to forgive others as well. Have a blessed and forgiving week!