We have heard that God doesn’t forgive those who have unforgiveness in their heart.

This scripture has been used to condemn many people. It has brought fear instead of faith.

I’ve heard it said that this is an Old Covenant way of praying. Implying that Jesus was under the Law of Moses. That just isn’t the case. Jesus fulfilled the law because Love fulfilled every point of the Law.

This scripture is supposed to be encouraging and uplifting.

God’s forgiveness of sins is not based on our ability or inability to forgive others.

If it were, Christ died in vain.

Think of the scripture in this light:

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, will not even more so your Heavenly Father forgive you?”

The scripture doesn’t translate this way, but it implies this meaning and so much more when we filter it through the view of Jesus’s example of God’s love for us.

Personally, I find it easier to forgive others than to forgive myself.

My own mistakes, shortcomings and sins are glaring in my face long after the wrongdoings of others have faded from my memory.

Does this mean that God won’t forgive me because I can’t forgive myself? Of course not!

But feeling forgiven and being forgiven are two totally different things.

When I compare myself to God’s righteousness, I find myself incomparably lacking and undeserving of God’s forgiveness. I don’t feel forgiven.

This doesn’t mean that I’m not forgiven. It just means that I don’t have a revelation of God’s forgiveness at that moment.

When I remind myself that I am a child of a loving Heavenly Father, forgiven, set free and delivered, I can find the strength to live with myself. It is then that I see myself the way God sees me. Righteous, and able to receive of God’s best.

If only we could walk in this perspective all of the time, just imagine how much peace we would have.

“The Lord’s Prayer” as it has been called, is all about fellowship with God and not about obtaining forgiveness. We engage with God in thankfulness and respect and receive what Christ already did for us over 2000 years ago once and for all time.

We are not seeking salvation in this prayer, but God’s direction and blessing with a newness of dedication to His plans, His purposes and His Kingdom.