And Forgive Us Our Debts
Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered. — Psalms 32:1
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. — 1 John 1:9
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to bring our essential needs before God, especially the forgiveness we all need. Instead of denying, concealing, justifying, or blaming others for our sins, we must confess them humbly. God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us, restoring our fellowship with Him. Remaining silent and stubborn wears us down spiritually and grieves the Holy Spirit; David experienced those consequences, but when he acknowledged his sin, he immediately received divine grace. Let us therefore rejoice in the mercy of our heavenly Father: let us repeatedly take refuge in His arms, mend our ways, and live truthfully and transparently before God and our fellow human beings.
The Lord’s Prayer is a compendium of petitions fundamental to human life. It is merely a model of the kind of prayer we can offer to the Lord, and it implicitly invites us to add our own essential petitions when we face similar needs.
One of the things every human being will need at some point in life is God’s forgiveness. Transgressing God’s law is inevitable, and we will always have to come before Him, many times a day, and confess our faults to Him. The wonderful thing is that the Bible says that ‘if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). On the other hand, ‘if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us’ (v. 10).
Asking God for forgiveness when we offend Him is the healthiest and most healing thing we can do. Confessing our debts cleanses us within and leaves us free to enjoy sweet fellowship with our heavenly Father and to continue receiving His abundant blessings.
On the other hand, living a morally careless life, stubbornly persisting in our sins and pretending to call them by another name, or trying to legitimize sinful behavior by distorting the obvious meaning of God’s commandments, is a recipe for disaster and a sure way to grieve the Holy Spirit. It is far better to be humble, admit our error, and entrust ourselves to the gracious ministry of our merciful Father.
David speaks of an occasion when he tried to conceal his sin instead of confessing it to God: ‘When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer.’ As we can see, the consequences of his behavior were extremely negative.
But then he adds: ‘I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.’ As soon as David confesses his sin, God’s grace is poured out upon him, and his ‘drought of summer’ is transformed into the verdure of spring.
Learn to rejoice in God’s mercy. Do not conceal your faults. Do not blame others for your own sin. Instead, take refuge again and again in the merciful arms of your heavenly Father, who knows your condition and has compassion on you as a father has compassion on his children (Psalm 103).
Being forgiven by God is a great privilege. Confess your sin. Mend your ways. And always live in the light of truth and transparency before God and your fellow human beings.