Prayers for Forgiveness: Forgive Yourself & Others

Everyone of us has been in situations were we have been lied to, deceived or mistreated by the people that we care about or love dearly. Often times forgiving them and forgiving yourself becomes very difficult because humans are naturally wired to retain memories. Sometimes we hold on to anger because it is easier to blame others than to forgive ourselves. We often ask the question, "why did this happen to me or why did I allow this to happen?" We can be constantly triggered by these past events through re-living familiar settings, clothes, perfumes or music. In my personal experience, healing from traumatic events only begins when you forgive the person that inflicted the pain, completely letting go of the hurt and the anger.

There are scriptural benefits associated with forgiving someone. For example, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Master gave us the charge in Matthew 6:15 to forgive so that our Father in Heaven can forgive us of our own sins. He told us in Luke 6:36 to be merciful just as our Father in heaven is merciful. He has loved us to the point of overlooking our multitude of sins. Dear reader, today I will share a prayer that might help you when you are struggling to forgive yourself and others. I sincerely, hope that you will embrace the healing journey of releasing burdens and find freedom in God's love.

Read Matthew 6:15, Luke 6:36, Ephesians 4:32 and Psalm 86:5 for scriptural understanding.

Prayer:

Dearest Father, I confess my struggles in the area of forgiveness. I pray for the grace to be kind and compassionate to others and myself. Help me to forgive myself and others just as your Son, Lord Jesus Christ forgave me. I would like to be able to do this so that I can be free of hurt, anger that has kept me captive for too long. Although this is difficult for me, I pray that I can find the strength to forgive other people when they sin against me, so that you, heavenly Father will also forgive me. I do not want to hold on to anger or to re-pay them with evil. Help me to forgive others seventy-seven times just as Christ commanded me. Teach me Father to follow your example, for Christ commanded me to be merciful just as you my Father are merciful. You are forgiving, good and abounding in love to all those that call upon you. You have blessed me by forgiving my multitude of transgressions and covering my sins through my Lord Jesus Christ. You chose to overlook my wickedness and remembered my sin no more. Thank you loving Father, for your mercy, compassion and love.

In Jesus mighty name, I pray.

Amen