Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV) - “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. 1For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
So far, we have looked into 5 of the 9 points that Jesus presents in the Model Prayer. Today we will consider two more points – Confession and Compassion.
Let us start with #6 Confession – (6:12a) “And forgive us our debts.” We need to on a daily basis keep short accounts with God. Every one of us sin on a regular daily basis. We are not capable in this life to live sinlessly. If we could, we wouldn’t need Jesus. He is the only one who has walked this world perfectly sinless. The word we have translated as debts is a word that means that which is justly or legally due, sin, offenses. In other words, it is the daily acts of sin that we commit or omit. We are guilty. And, we cannot pay the penalty – the price is too high. So, we come to God in our daily prayers and seek His forgiveness. The word means to let go, to remit, to keep no longer. We ask God to remove the daily acquired stains. It is like our clothes. We daily get them dirty, and in turn, they need to be washed. Our being gets dirty on a daily basis, and God will clean us up.
In turn, in our prayer, we seek to release others of their offenses against us. He gives us point #7 Compassion – (6:12b) “As we forgive our debtors.” He reemphasizes this in verses 14 and 15 of this passage - “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Realize that this does not mean our salvation is dependent on this – that would be a works salvation. Trespasses is the Greek word paraptooma here and means a stumbling aside or false step – lapse or deviation from the truth – the word only used in Matthew.
The idea is that it means that our fellowship with the Father is based upon our fellowship with others. We cannot understand and accept the compassion and forgiveness of God, if we do not provide it for those who we have dealings with.
Today, ask Him to release you, and take time to release others of the debts that we have accumulated. Releasing others will help us understand God’s release of us. Try it.
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1 Many of the older manuscripts omit this last phrase of the prayer. I am including it because of the popularity of the way we say the prayer.
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