50 Days of Prayer – Day 9
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 (NIV)
Most of us are all too familiar with debt. The word translated debt in this passage is “opheilema” expressing something owed to another, that which is legally and morally due. Opheilema is one of five New Testament Greek terms for sin. As a tax collector, perhaps Matthew chose this word since he would be very familiar with the debts owed the Roman Government. In Romans 13:8 (NIV), the apostle Paul uses the word to speak of our moral obligation to one another. He writes, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”
Twenty-five times in the New Testament opheilema refers to moral or spiritual debts. Sin is a moral and spiritual debt to God that must be paid. The debts Jesus identifies are beyond our ability to repay. When Jesus was teaching us about prayer, He understood our human condition. We are all debtors. To pray like Jesus taught, offers us relief from our debts through forgiveness! That’s good news! If you’ve ever had a debt forgiven, you understand the feeling of being set free! You are no longer under the obligation to repay it! The debt has been paid in full! One of the last sayings of Jesus from the cross when He paid our sin debt was tetelestai – paid in full! That was a word written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show that a bill had been paid in full. Praise God that we have the promise of forgiveness through Christ so that we can pray, “Forgive us our debts!”
It’s interesting to me to note that the pronoun here is “us.” We all need forgiveness. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Some people have misunderstood this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer and have taken it to mean that God's forgiveness of our sins is dependent on our forgiveness of others' sins against us. But the rest of Scripture shows us that no one can earn God's forgiveness. I think the meaning focuses on true repentance. When a Christ follower understands the greatness of the forgiveness that he or she has received they willingly extends such forgiveness to others for their wrongs. None of us deserve forgiveness. Yet, when we ask God to forgive us our debts, we are set free from the guilt and shame that sin brings. We are then free to forgive our debtors.
This is one of the most practical and personal applications of prayer in our lives. Have you asked God to forgive you of your sin debt? Are you holding the note on someone else’s sin debt against you that you need to forgive? The only way to find release from the hurt of bitterness is to forgive, to give it to God and say, “Heavenly Father, just as I don’t deserve forgiveness, yet You have forgiven me, help me by Your love and grace to forgive ______________________.”
Trust God to settle the accounts in your life. It will restore your joy and peace!