How to Love and Forgive

How do we love people? Why is it hard at times, even as a Christian, to love and forgive?

I think it will help if we look at various aspects of forgiveness and love, as it relates to restoring and maintaining relationships. To begin, let's look at something I call the "forgiveness facade." 

FORGIVENESS AND ALLOWANCE

The forgiveness facade is when we feel that we must quickly forgive a person's sin against us, thinking that means we hastily forget about it and move on. This mindset keeps us from judging righteously because by not addressing the sin, it appears we are allowing it. However, there's a difference between forgiveness and allowance. 

We read in Luke 17:3 that Jesus said, "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him." 

To rebuke your brother when he sins doesn't mean to accept the sin, or simply brush it under the rug and move on. Yes, we do forgive him if he repents, but that doesn't mean the sin is not addressed. How this is done will vary, and I won't get into that here. (There are many Scriptures on this topic, including Matthew 5:21-26 and Matthew 18:15-35, as well as other New Testament verses). The point is, not understanding this forgiveness facade may get in the way of  working through the forgiveness process, and maintaining the relationship. 

FORGIVENESS AND OFFENSE

Additionally, it's also important to understand that there's a difference between forgiving someone for a wrong they committed against you, and the offense you may have taken in your heart for what they did. Forgiveness is a response to repentance from sin, but any offense you might have taken also needs to be dealt with.

You forgive someone for the sin they committed against you, when they come to you and repent. You don't "forgive" someone for the offense you took from their sin. They are not responsible for the offense that you took. That is a separate issue that you must deal with before God, (and you might need to ask that person forgive you depending on how you might have reacted toward them).

There's been crazy talk in our society, some places even trying to pass laws, saying that if you say something that another person takes offense at, then YOU can be charged for their offense! This is absurd. Biblically, each person is responsible for what they have control over. I don't have control over how you feel, or what you think, so how can I be held accountable for your feelings or thoughts, or what you did as a result of them? 

In the same way, if I became bitter over a sin committed against me, the other person is not responsible for my bitterness. I might try to convince myself that they are responsible, but they are not. And I dare not wait until they repent to let go of my bitterness. It might never happen. 

So remember to distinguish between these two things:

• When a person who has sinned against you comes to you and repents, forgive them.
• When a person sins against you, don't pick up, or hang on to, any offense, bitterness, anger etc. Get rid of it right away, don't wait for them to come to you and repent.

OFFENSE OR JUDGEMENT

Once we learn to distinguish between forgiveness and offense, then we also need to understand the difference between taking offense from a sin committed against you, and taking on a condemning judgment toward someone who hasn't sinned against you. They might just rub you the wrong way, or you don't like them for whatever reason. 

We can see how we might be tempted to take offense against a person who has wronged us, but we may not always see the "offense" we develop when a person has done nothing wrong against us. We, for whatever reason, develop a condemning, judgmental, critical, irritable, or accusatory attitude against them.

In either case, whether you're dealing with an offense due to sin, or some other condemning attitude you have against another person, it's up to you to get before God and deal with it, repent of it, and get your heart right. It's not up to to the other person to fix the condition of your heart for you. 

If a person has wronged you, they may NEVER come and ask for your forgiveness. You can't wait for that. And by dealing with your heart issues right away, then if/when they do come and repent, you'll be ready, and can sincerely, from the heart, let them know you forgive them. 

In some cases, you might think a person needs to repent, but if they have no conviction in their heart, if they have done nothing wrong, if they have no idea that you are struggling to love them, and have no idea that there may be something they could do to help bring reconciliation into your relationship, they will never come to you to repent or seek reconciliation because they do not know it's needed. 

How many times are we waiting for the other person to come to us to make amends, when they have no idea that there is anything to make amends for? And the problem is not with them, its with us.

HOW DO WE FIX THIS?

I believe if we get too wrapped up in what is right and wrong for ourselves--meaning that we put ourselves under a legalistic relationship with the Lord--then we will project that same legalism onto others, becoming intolerant and unmerciful toward them. (Read that again!)

We are to forgive as God has forgiven us. But in order to do so, we must FIRST receive His forgiveness for us. We must FIRST take ourselves out from under law--from under soulish-realm rule. 

We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). We MUST receive His love, His Son, His salvation, His grace, His truth, His forgiveness and mercy, before we can ever truly offer it to others without it being a religious act of duty based on legalism instead of relationship.

We must not let the enemy bring condemnation on us, causing us to pick at our faults, our sin, or our weaknesses. Instead, we must receive the love of God--the sacrifice of His Son--in us.

We need His love and forgiveness embedded within our hearts, so as not to be judgmental toward others.

It's really about receiving His love for us.
REALLY RECEIVING IT.
Then, and only then, can we love others the same way.
That's it. We make it too hard.

You are not being selfish in receiving the love of God.
Without receiving it, you can't love others. You'll just put them under law, as you do yourself, apart from His love.

It's true that we're not worthy of His love, but we NEVER WILL BE. We have to get up and get past that. This is worship--acknowledging His great love for us, when we don't deserve it, and then doing the same for others.

I think what often happens, is that we get motivated by our love for God (because of His love for us) and then we try and live up to His standard in our own strength. When we slip away just a bit in our relationship with Him, when our understanding of His love dims a little, and our daily time in His presence, (which reassures us of His love for us), begins to be neglected, then we will eventually try and earn that love back and legalism begins to rise. It just doesn't work. We can't do it that way. We NEED His love as a continual flow in our lives. 

We must remember, and hold close, His love for us, not just our love for Him. This is only possible as we stay in daily, intimate, communion with Him.

See also

Forgiveness Check-up

Healing from the Wounds of Sin.

Forgiveness Check-up

 

Do you ever struggle to forgive someone? Do you feel so obligated to forgive a person quickly that you mumble your forgiveness without a real sincerity? Let's take a look at the process of forgiveness as Jesus described it. 

Luke 17:3-4
3 Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Jesus was talking to His disciples when He said if your brother repents of his sin to forgive him, even if he sins against you seven times in one day, if he comes to you and repents then forgive him. Notice He said, “if he repents.” So if your brother or sister in Christ comes to you in repentance, seeking forgiveness for a wrong they’ve done, you are to forgive them.

But what if they don’t come to you in repentance?

First, let’s clarify that if your brother doesn’t come to you and repent then that doesn’t mean you don’t “forgive” him. 

Forgiveness is a relational thing. It takes two people. According to what Jesus said here you can't really “forgive” a person if they don’t come to you and repent. In the same way that you can’t withdraw money from your bank account if you don’t ask the bank for it. It’s there, it’s available to you, but if you don’t go through the process of requesting it then the bank won’t just randomly give it to you. They don’t even know you want it. In the same way, if a person who has wronged you doesn’t come to you and ask for forgiveness you can’t give it to him. They have got to go through the process of requesting it—to come to you and repent.

However, that doesn’t mean that you hang on to unforgiveness if he hasn’t repented. That doesn’t mean that you hold on to bitterness and seek vengeance. You deal with all of that (hopefully) at the time the sin is committed, (or when you find out about it). 

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:5 that love “does not take into account a wrong suffered.” Love will not allow any bitterness or resentment to remain in your heart when someone wrongs you or sins against you. Neither will it seek vengeance or revenge on a person who wrongs you.

Romans 12:18-20 
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

We sometimes call forgiveness the thing that we do when we determine we will not become bitter or seek revenge on a person who wrongs us. Or we call forgiveness the thing that we do when we have held on to bitterness and then come to point where we realize we need to let go of our bitterness toward that person. But really, that is simply guarding our own heart against sin and determining that we will walk in love and not take account of the wrong(s) we suffer because of another person’s sin. We call it forgiveness, but it's more accurate to say we are keeping our own heart pure before God, and remaining in His love, which puts us in a position where we stand ready to forgive if/when they ask. Forgiveness is what we do toward them when they come to us in repentance asking for our forgiveness.

The reason I think this distinction is important is because there is a process we go through to come to the point of keeping bitterness and revenge out of our heart. When someone sins against us, we might be able to let it roll off of us without a problem. But there are times we may need to take a minute to acknowledge a wrong done toward us and go to the Lord about it. We may need to talk to the Lord to gain understanding about the person, what they did, or the situation in general. We might need healing from wounds caused by the person's sin. We might need to examine our heart to see if we’ve done anything wrong. This takes a little time, prayer, and thought to work through, but when we feel that we have to immediately “forgive” a person (or God won’t forgive us) then we may bypass this important process of healing, self-examination, and seeking the Lord for His perspective.

Now that we understand what we can do right away when we are wronged to keep our hearts right, let's look again at what Jesus said:

Luke 17:3-4
3 Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Notice Jesus first said if your brother sins to rebuke him.

Again this is relational, so you don’t go around rebuking every Christian you know for what you perceive to be sin in their life. There was a woman who came to our church once who told us of a time she visited a church with her two young children. Before the service even started some women came up to her and told her they had already found four things wrong with her. That is not what Jesus meant here and I would guess that not one of those four things was actually sin.

So we don't want to go around looking for faults in every Christian we see. Yet with those we have a relationship with, the best course of action to take when they sin against us is to talk to them about it and address it (See Matthew 18:15-22, Galatians 6:1, James 5:16, 20). Try to clear the air right away. Ideally, we want the relationship restored. Sometimes that’s not possible. But in any case, we still do what we need to so we keep our own hearts pure and ready to forgive.

Forgiving as Christ has Forgiven us

Paul said we are to forgive our brothers and sisters as Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13). 

How has He forgiven us? Jesus came and died so we could be forgiven of our sins and made righteous. Yet it doesn’t happen without our coming to Him in repentance asking for His forgiveness and His salvation. Then, once we are born again into His family, we walk with Him endeavoring to keep His Word and not sin. But if we sin, we confess it to Him, and seek His forgiveness.

John said if we confess our sins He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Asking for forgiveness brings us into relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ and it keeps us in relationship with Him even if we sin after we have experienced His salvation. He provided for our forgiveness by dying on the cross and He is not holding our sin against us (2 Corinthians 5:19). Jesus took our sin on the cross and paid the price. He presents us before the Father without spot (sin, defect) or blemish (original sin).

In the same way, we do not personally hold our brother’s sin against them. We do not hold bitterness in our heart against them or seek their demise. Yet the act of forgiveness doesn’t happen until they ask for it, and we let them know we have forgiven them, having genuinely kept our hearts pure from anything which would result in unforgiveness. In our minds, and heart, we have already forgiven them, it’s ready and waiting for them as we’ve already gone through the process of forgiving them before the Lord—a process that might have included healing, correction, a strengthening, and/or gaining understanding on our part first.

Stephen asked the Lord not to hold the sin (of stoning him) against those who were stoning him (Acts 7:60). God is the one who forgives sin, and though Stephen wouldn’t be around to forgive them if any of his murderers repented later on, at the time of his death he did “forgive” them by keeping his heart free from seeking vengeance and letting the Lord know he did not want anything to be held against them on his behalf.

We do not have to, nor should we, wait for a person to come to us in repentance before we "forgive" them. We prepare our hearts now.

What About Retaining Sins?

John 20:21-23
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the word retain is the Greek word krateo which most often in the NASB version is translated seize or seized. It’s also translated to hold, hold fast, take hold in various forms or arrested.  The word means to be strong, rule.

Keeping the thought in mind that you don’t technically forgive someone until they come to you seeking forgiveness (even though you’ve determined not to hold on to bitterness or a vengeful heart), we might look at this action of retaining sins as something that occurs if a person is seeking forgiveness for a sin but wants to continue in it. In other words, they are seeking permission or tolerance of the sin, not true forgiveness. They want “forgiveness” and fellowship among the brethren, but not through repentance.

There are times that sins are to be “seized” or “arrested.” It is to be ruled over and put in its proper place. We are to declare what God has already judged about sin—that it is not to be allowed to freely operate in the church, among believers. It is to be rebuked, not tolerated.

So what this means is that by our forgiveness we are not saying we condone someone continuing in sin. We seize that sin, arrest it, address it and confront it in our brother or sister. More important than restoring their relationship with us is the restoration of their relationship with God.

 So What to Do?

To check up on yourself, go before the Lord and talk to Him about anything you may be holding in your heart against another person who has wronged you. Ask for healing if needed, ask for understanding, and receive any correction He gives you. Remember that His love has been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Remind yourself of His love for you and receive it fully because receiving His love is what gives you the ability to love others (1 John 4:19). Ask Him for forgiveness for anything in your heart that you are holding against anyone else. You do not need to wait to be free from the pain that their sin has caused you. You can be free right now.

If that person does come to you in repentance, asking for forgiveness, then you will be ready and willing to do so because you already have in your heart. They may never repent and ask for forgiveness. Some may have passed away and others just might never seek your forgiveness, but in any case you are not bound or wounded by their sin anymore. You are free from that sin and the rippling affects of it.

Healing from the Wounds of Sin

 

Numbers 21:4-5

⁴Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. ⁵The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

The Israelites had been miraculously delivered from slavery in Egypt and were heading towards the Promised Land--the land God had promised to give to the descendants of Abraham whom He had entered into covenant with. However, they became impatient along the way--many times. In this case they also spoke against God and Moses. They called the manna God miraculously provided for food "miserable" and said they loathed it. Unfortunately, complaints had become common with them on this journey.

Prior to this incident, a generation of them had already become destined to die in the wilderness because of their unbelief that God could give them the Promised Land that He said He had given them. Twelve spies were sent to check out the land and ten of them came back and said they couldn't take it. The giants in the land were too big. God determined at that time that they would die in the wilderness, all except for the two spies who said they could take it--Joshua and Caleb. The rest would die and their children would be the ones to possess the land (Numbers 13-14).

On another occasion they complained about the manna, missing the food in Egypt, and saying they wanted meat. The Lord sent them enough quail to last for a month. However, people became greedy and while the meat was still in their mouth  they were struck with a severe plague and died (Numbers 11).

God was in covenant with the Israelites but they didn't seem to understand that covenants are not one-sided. They were to be participants in this covenant. They had an important part in God's purposes in the Earth. They were to carry the oracles of God and birth the Messiah who would save the nations. Yet, their slavery mentality kept them in bondage. They were in a habit of complaining about their captors--those in authority over them. After being delivered from slavery they continued complaining, yet with the complaints directed towards God and Moses instead of the Egyptians.

Early on in the Israelites journey out of Egypt, they came to Marah where they found the waters were bitter. They couldn't drink it and they complained. Moses cried out to the Lord who showed him a tree. Moses threw the tree into the water and they became sweet so the people could drink. At that same place, the Lord made a statute and a regulation that if the Israelites would listen to Him, hear His commandments, keep all His statutes and do what is right in His sight, then He would not put any of the diseases on them that He did the Egyptians. (Exodus 15:22-27). 

He would provide for them, but they would have to listen to Him and do what He says. He was teaching them what it was like to be in covenant.

Now, back to what happened after they complained and spoke against God and Moses:

Numbers 21:6-9

⁶The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and you; intercede with the Lord, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. ⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” ⁹And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

After these serpents came, the people recognized that they had done wrong and repented. They asked Moses to pray and remove the serpents. However, instead of removing them God told Moses to set a serpent on a pole for them to look at after being bitten, and they would be healed. So he made a bronze serpent and set it up on a pole. A type of Jesus up on the cross.

These serpents are an example of how sin wounds. Sin poisons. Your sin wounds you, your sin can wound others, and other's sins can wound you. The serpents were like the manifestation of their sin and the damage it caused. Like an object lesson, God was showing them what their heart attitude and their words were doing to them--it was poisoning them and killing them.

So, they repented. They had done this many times before and knew what to do when things didn't go right. Yet it seems that their repentance had been very shallow. They would repent, yet turn back and do the same thing again. However, this time they would have to "feel the pain" of their sin for a little while until they could get to the pole and be healed.

True repentance is painful. It's tempting to say a quick, "Please forgive me, Lord," prayer and not fully address a sin we have committed. If we keep doing this we end up searing our conscience which decreases our sensitivity to the voice of God. God wanted them, and wants us, to understand the importance of true repentance.

Dutch Sheets has a good teaching on the four-step process of repentance. Briefly summarized as: 

First we have remorse--sorrow. Sorrow because we feel the pain of that sin, not just because we "got caught." In the case of the Israelites, this was the pain of the snakebite.

Next is the revelation of the consequence of that sin and where it leads. What it does to you and others.

Then we have a more true repentance because of the remorse and understanding we've received about our sin.

Finally, we have the desired result--we turn from that sin and don't return back to it. Our repentance was not shallow, we walk away from that sin.

So, what do we do when we sin, and how do we recover completely from it?

We truly repent and receive forgiveness and cleansing from our sin. 

1 John 1:9

⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He forgives us and cleanses us when we confess our sins. Yet, we might still need to receive the healing, the recovery from this sin, and the strengthening from the weakness that it has caused. If we don't allow this full recovery, then our walk with the Lord can get out of alignment as we'll see in just a bit.

We might keep the wounds of our sin open through guilt. If we do not fully repent and/or fully receive God's forgiveness and cleansing, guilt will work against us like that poison from the snake.

Let's look at a New Testament Scripture to see how we must receive this full cleansing and healing so our walk stays in alignment:

Hebrews 12:1-13

¹Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ⁴You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; ⁵and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; (Job 5:17) ⁶For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” (Proverbs 3:12).

When we don’t understand that we must stand against sin at all costs, then He disciplines us for our own good, so we can live.

⁷It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. ⁹Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? ¹⁰For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. ¹¹All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

God disciplines us for our own good. Our earthly fathers disciplined us and, though its not pleasant, we learned from it. How much more should we subject ourselves to our heavenly Father so we may share in His holiness, and live?

¹²Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, ¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

The context here is of overcoming sin, striving against it to the point of shedding our own blood if necessary, and receiving God's discipline when needed. In this context, we strengthen our weak hands and feeble knees. We make straight paths for our feet. We don't adjust our path to accommodate our lame limbs. We don't learn to live with our sin, or accept it as a character defect, or make excuses for it. No, we receive His strengthening and His healing so we are strong and aligned on our path--His righteous path.

 What do we do regarding other's sin against us?

We've been talking about when we sin, repent, and receive healing and strengthening from the wounds that were caused. But the same is true of other people's sin towards us. It wounds us, we forgive, and turn them over to God for Him to deal with them.

Forgiveness means we don't seek vengeance. If there is any resentment, unrighteous anger, bitterness, or even self-pity, we are keeping that wound open allowing the poison from the snake to remain in our system working against us. And if we don't fully forgive, then we get ourselves into sin and start that whole process again. It's not worth it. We need to address sin properly and completely so it doesn't keep a foothold in our life. Whether its sin we've committed, or the sin of others, it needs to be dealt with completely, once and for all, so as not to get us off balance and off track.

James 5:14-16 

14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Every sickness is not caused by a person sinning. However, confession of sin, sickness, prayer, faith, anointing with oil, healing and forgiveness are all mentioned together here. Often there are connections. If there is any sickness, any nagging guilt, any lingering resentment, bitterness etc. going on in your life, its worth it to take some time examining your heart before the Lord to get these things resolved once and for all.

Psalm 51:7-10: “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Examine your heart:

• Think of anything regarding sin that bothers you, that isn't resolved. Whether it's sin you've committed, or sin others have committed against you.
• It could be something you've done that has been a sin against God. Or something that has wounded or affected others. Or something you've done that has harmed yourself.
• Even if you have already repented, you could still be carrying guilt in regard to this, or maybe you haven't fully repented.
• Notice if you feel you haven't really repented and felt real sorrow over this sin. Ask the Lord to reveal the reality of those things so you can truly repent if necessary. So its not just a shallow repentance.
• Take a moment because sometimes our conscience becomes calloused and we need to give these things time to surface.
  
  
• If someone has sinned against you, notice if you feel you haven't really forgiven them.
• If you think you have forgiven them, yet there is still be a wound causing pain, if there is still any anger, resentment, bitterness, or self-pity, it still needs to be addressed. Let go of the pain and fully forgive. Get the poison of the snake out of your system. Decide to forgive.
  
  
• Ask the Lord to bring all these things to light and become aware of their reality. Ask Him to help you recognize the wounds that are still open. Even if its slight. If you think about something that happened and feel even just a twinge of a wound, address that while praying.
• If you can't think of any specific sin that is left un-dealt with or that has left an unhealed wound, still pray for any strengthening that needs to occur in any vulnerable areas.

Prayer:

Father God, I come before You in the Name of Jesus.

Please show me any sin I have committed that I haven’t fully repented of. Show me the full consequence of this sin. Show me how I have hurt You, myself, or others. I am truly sorry for these sins. I repent and turn away from them. Please forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I receive Your forgiveness and cleansing. I forgive myself. I let go of all guilt, or any pride, I might have had, in regards to any sin.

Also Father, please show me anyone who has wounded me, or sinned against me, that I haven’t truly forgiven. I forgive everyone who has sinned against me.  I turn them over to You, the Righteous Judge. I let go of all anger, resentment, bitterness, vengeance, criticism, self-pity, or any other ungodly attitude towards them.

Now Holy Father, I ask for Your healing, from any wounds caused by sin—my sin, or the sin of others. Heal me, spirit, soul, and body. Strengthen me where I’ve been weak, so the power of Christ dwells in me, and I can walk the straight path of Your will. I also ask for the healing, of those whom I have wounded by my sin.

I allow these wounds to be healed. I will not prevent their healing. I will not hold the wounds open, but allow full healing, and restoration, to take place, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

Use anointing oils for cleansing, healing, and strengthening.