Mensa Otabil - Forgive Us (10/10/2025)
Just to remind you that from next week, Thursday, the 23rd of June, we begin our 40 Days of Power. It’s going to be 40 days of prayer and fasting, and there will be prayer devotions coming through online. Of course, I’ll be leading the devotion as well, and I just want to encourage as many of you as can to participate with us as we seek the face of the Lord for 40 days.
So, I’m teaching on prayer, giving some thoughts on how we can pray effectively. Next week, I’ll be teaching on fasting.
Matthew chapter 6, verse 12: «And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.»
The theme of forgiveness runs through the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He lived it, and He died for it. Even in death, He forgave. The whole mission and ministry of Jesus Christ focused on the forgiveness of sins. Of course, He came so that we could receive forgiveness of sins from God. Jesus placed forgiveness at the center of our prayer life, and if you look at the Lord’s Prayer, «forgive us our debts» or «forgive us our sins,» it’s right there in the center of the prayer.
So, what are debts? When the passage says, «forgive us our debts,» what are debts? A debt is something that you owe; it means something you should have done but didn’t do, or something you did that you shouldn’t have done. Therefore, you owe. You have to make it right. The passage states that each one of us has something we should have done that we didn’t do or something we did that we shouldn’t have done; all of these are debts.
In terms of sin, there are things that God wants us to do that we didn’t do and things that God doesn’t want us to do that we did. Those are debts. So, from the point of this prayer, each one of us has debts, meaning each one of us has done something God doesn’t want us to do or something God wants us to do that we haven’t done. Therefore, each one of us owes God. Thus, when we pray, each one of us must pray, «forgive us our debts.» Why? Because every human being is a debtor. We are debtors to God and to other human beings whom we have not treated well, and that is why we should pray.
Now, if you look at the Lord’s Prayer, this is the only conditional prayer. Each one of the petitions we make in the Lord’s Prayer requests something without stating that we will do this before God grants it. «Give us our daily bread» does not ask, «Oh God, if we don’t behave well, don’t give us our daily bread.» But in this prayer, our forgiveness is based on our ability to forgive other people. God forgives us our debts as we forgive other people their debts.
Now, the reality of life is that each one of us has somebody who has done us something bad. Everyone does. If each one of us has someone who has wronged us, it means each one of us has wronged somebody else. Therefore, each one of us offends people, and each one of us gets offended. Even if we take God out of the picture in our human relationships, no one is perfect. Who can say, «I never offend anybody; I never do anything wrong against anyone; I’m the perfect human being»? That would be a lie.
Because of the universality of our weaknesses, brokenness, and failures, we must show mercy towards each other. God says if you want Me to forgive you, just recognize that you are not perfect. If you can accept your imperfections in relation to other people and ask for forgiveness, then I will treat you as you treat others. This is one of those prayers where God does to us as we do unto others.
So, are you ready to forgive? If you want your prayer to be effective, you have to learn to forgive. May the Lord help us all to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, today I forgive those who have sinned against me. Forgive me of all my sins. In Jesus' name, Amen.