A Prescription for Inner Healing

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”  (Matthew 6:12)

The greatest obstacle to inner healing is un-forgiveness.  Those who work in ministries of healing claim that the lack of forgiveness on the part of a victim that has been terribly violated can retard their own inner healing.

Can you see why Jesus instructed His disciples to pray every day: “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors?”  The original language has it, “As we have already forgiven our debtors.”  Do you think Jesus knew how important it is to our inner healing that we should forgive those who sin against us?

Some are bothered by the way Jesus offers commentary on this petition in the disciple’s Prayer.  He commented that if we do not forgive we are not forgiven.  It almost sounds as if we are forgiven because we forgive.  He defuses their confusion with a parable that is recorded in Chapter Eighteen of Matthew.  A man is forgiven a very large debt in the millions of dollars.  He does not have to go into debtor’s prison and see his wife and family sold into slavery.

But on the way home he meets a man who owes him twenty dollars.  He grabs him by the throat and orders him to pay him every cent or he will have him put into debtor’s prison.  Both events are observed and told to the one who forgave him the large debt.  He is recalled and his forgiveness is revoked.  Jesus comments on that story, that if we from our hearts do not forgive, we are not forgiven.

The point is that if we are a forgiven person we will be a forgiving person.  If we are not a forgiving person we are not really a forgiven person.

2 Responses to A Prescription for Inner Healing

  1. Rev Art Jensen, ICM Chaplain says:

    Wow! Great insight ! Blessings always to you, Dick!

    Art

  2. Gail Hedrick says:

    To not forgive is likened to squeezing your hand around a sharp knife and refusing to let go…I had no idea the pain of anger and unforgiveness in my own heart until it manifested…I even had to forgive God for holding me accountable to forgive…that moment occurred under a ministry session when the Holy Spirit released me to receive the Fatherhood of God. The Scripture He used was from Luke 1:38 “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your will”. The Lord gave me a revelation into Mary’s capacity to trust Him and submit to Him without reservation and I broke into tears. The Father pursues us. God is Love. 1 John 4:8.

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