Day Three: Help Me to Be a Forgiving Person

Lord, help me to be a forgiving person. Show me where I am not. Expose the recesses of my soul so I won't be locked up by unforgiveness and jeopardize my future. If I have any anger, bitterness, resentment, or unforgiveness that I am not recognizing, reveal it to me and I will confess it to You as sin. Specifically I ask You to help me fully forgive (name anyone you feel you need to forgive). Make me to understand the depth of Your forgiveness toward me so that I won't hold back forgiveness from others. I realize that my forgiving someone doesn't make them right; it makes me free. I also realize that You are the only one who knows the whole story, and You will see justice done.

Help me to forgive myself for the times I have failed. And if I have blamed You for things that have happened in my life, show me so I can confess it before You. Enable me to love my enemies as You have commanded in Your Word. Teach me to bless those who curse me and persecute me (Matthew 5:44-45). Remind me to pray for those who hurt or offend me so that my heart will be soft toward them. I don't want to become hard and bitter because of unforgiveness. Make me a person who is quick to forgive.

Lord, show me if I have any unforgiveness toward my mother or father for anything they did or did not do. I don't want to shorten my life by not honoring them and breaking this great commandment. And where there is distance between me and any other family member because of unforgiveness, I pray You would break down that wall. Help me to forgive every time I need to do so. Where I can be an instrument of reconciliation between other family members who have broken or strained relationships, enable me to do that.

I don't want anything to come between You and me, Lord, and I don't want my prayers hindered because I have entertained sin in my heart. I choose this day to forgive everyone and everything, and walk free from the death that unforgiveness brings. If any person has unforgiveness toward me, I pray that You would soften their heart to forgive me and show me what I can do to help resolve this issue between us. I know that I cannot be a light to others as long as I am walking in the darkness of unforgiveness. I choose to walk in the light as You are in the light and be cleansed from all sin (I John 1:7).* In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins,

your Father will not forgive your sins.

- Matthew 6:14-15

But I tell you: Love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

- Matthew 5:44-45

*Make this prayer your own! From the book, The Power of a Praying Woman. Ordering information is at the bottom of this page. I strongly encourage you to read this book as the chapter content is so powerful!

Today's prayer for your husband: His Finances
Today's prayer for your children: Securing Protection from Harm