A Prayer about Practicing Forgiveness throughout Our Lives

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Forgiving Father, 

Secular studies have shown that people 

who know they are dying 

benefit from asking forgiveness 

and granting forgiveness 

at the end of life. 

As Christians, this data does not surprise us, 

for you command us to “forgive one another” 

as you have forgiven us in Christ (Ephesians 4:32).

While it’s tricky to know how to forgive 

someone who has abused or betrayed us, 

in Christ, you have given us 

all of the kindness and compassion we need to do so. 

We must remember that forgiveness is not 

minimizing the damage done 

or excusing the offense. 

It is naming, “You hurt me [in this way] 

and I forgive you, 

not in my own power, 

but in the power of the Holy Spirit 

working in me. 

Similarly, to ask forgiveness of another, 

we don’t excuse, or minimize, or blame-shift. 

We simply say, 

“I hurt you by [naming offense], 

and I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” 

Forgiving Father, you have forgiven us 

our gossip and greediness, 

our lust for more and our lack of kindness, 

our self-absorption and our self-promotion, 

among the long list 

of other betrayals 

we have committed against you. 

Because you have forgiven us in Christ, 

help us to practice forgiving 

and asking forgiveness, 

not just at the end of our lives, 

but every day of our lives.

In Jesus’ restoring name we ask. Amen.

Read Read Ephesians 1:7, 4:32; Matthew 18:21-35; Matthew 5:43-45.