Day 13 – Pray for forgiveness
“forgive us our debts” – Matthew 6:12a (ESV)
“Debts” means “sins” here in this part of Jesus’ model prayer. The forgiveness that Jesus speaks of here is “family forgiveness,” not judicial forgiveness. We must be careful to distinguish between our legal standing before God as our judge and our relationship as children with our Father. Through faith in Christ, God, as our Judge, has declared us pardoned, justified, and righteous. No one will ever be able to condemn us or bring any charge against us as a child of God (Romans 8:33-34). But because we still fall into sin, we must come to our Heavenly Father in repentance to move forward in fellowship with Him. The issue is not the status of our relationship with God as our Judge, but rather the health of our fellowship with God as our Father.
Spend a few moments with your Heavenly Father as you confess any known sins in your life you haven’t addressed with Him. Ask for His forgiveness, knowing that you are a fully loved and accepted part of His forever family.
