This is week 2 of our Lenten Prayers. One thing that is very important for us to do during lent is to ask for forgiveness. This is a 3 fold forgiveness:
1. Forgiving others
2. Asking others to forgive you
3. And, Forgiving Yourself
As humans we can find it really hard to ask for forgiveness because we are embarrassed or too proud. But while we are giving up for lent let us also give up pride and our unwillingness to forgive others. Some may even think of asking for forgiveness as a show of weakness and defeat but this is far from the truth. You will be amazed at the release you will get from this. All the weight and pressure will be lifted from your shoulder and you can truly move on in life to fulfill your calling and purpose.
May this week be a week of self-awareness for us, a week where we learn to turn the other cheek and
forgive others so we can be forgiven. (Matthew 6:15) “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Also, once we have asked others to forgive us then we need to also forgive ourselves. We can’t keep playing the same broken record over and over again in our head. Remember there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Once Jesus has forgiven you then you no longer need to carry that burden. Even if the person you are asking to forgive you does not look as if they do, if you ask with a repentant heart and you truly meant it, then God has forgiven you.
You need to go to others whom you have hurt, whether intentional or unintentional, and ask for forgiveness. Of course, you can only do this if you are sure that you have hurt someone. You’re not responsible for what you don’t know but you can ask God to reveal to you areas where you may have erred and wronged others (Mark 11:25) “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Here is a Lenten Prayer for Forgiveness
Heavenly Father, Thank you for your love and mercy, your forgiveness and your invitation for me to prayer and fasting during lent so that my heart can be made new.
Father free me from my sins and protect me from evil because I cannot go through this life alone. I realize that you love me and desire to save me even before I was formed in my mother’s womb.
I am your child and have come to realization through the reading of lent bible verses that I need to forgive others and as I do that you are also forgiving me. I also know that I need to go to others and ask them to forgive me for the things that I may have done to them whether it was intentional or not. I bend my will and my entire life toward You, Oh Lord. I am grateful for your continued patience and mercy towards me even when I am unforgiving and puffed up with pride, when I go days and weeks without coming to your throne. Father, forgive me.
Please keep me on this journey of prayer and fasting during these 40 days of lent. Prepare me now by instilling a spirit of forgiveness in me, preparing me for eternal life when you return. As you teach me to forgive I ask that you give me the grace to go to those people that you know are difficult to deal with. I need your strength Lord. Let my asking for forgiveness this week be a testimony of your grace.
Help me through my Lenten prayer of forgiveness to be more fully focused on the suffering and death of Jesus and what that means for me. Thank you for your forgiveness and your willingness to make such a great sacrifice for a sinner like me. As you said on the cross “Father forgive them” let that same spirit be upon me to forgive others.
Humble me dear God I pray so I can be forgiving even if just a fraction of the forgiveness that you have bestowed upon us. I look forward to more prayer and fasting as I give up all self for Lent and let go and let you work through me, in Jesus Name, Amen.
Your assignment for this week is to walk out the 3 fold forgiveness – Forgive others, asking others to forgive you and forgiving yourself.
Here are some lent bible verses to help you through this process.
(Hebrews 10:18) “And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”