7 – Unforgiveness

Bible Verses

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.” (NIV)

Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” (NLT)

Luke 23:34 – “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (NIV)

Romans 12:19 – “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord.” (NLT)

Ephesians 4:31-32 – “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NIV)

Discussion

Unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, rage, hatred, judgment, offense, revenge, vengeance, gossip, slander, backbiting, and jealousy are all negative emotions and practices that we often experience when someone has hurt or wronged us. We feel justified because we believe that they should get consequences for their actions. Jesus came and paid for all of our sins and showed us a whole different way of doing things. In (Luke 6:28) (NIV), Jesus says: “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” We don’t forgive people because they deserve it. We forgive because Jesus paid for all sin and forgave us when we didn’t deserve it.

Prayer

Father God, I repent and renounce all unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, rage, hatred, judgment, offense, revenge, vengeance, gossip, slander, backbiting, and jealousy. I ask You to search my heart. If I have anything in my heart against anyone, or any unforgiveness towards anyone, I ask You to reveal it to me right now.

(Put the name of any person or persons that come to mind (including yourself) in the following prayer.)

Father God, I lift up (Fill in blank)________________________________________________ to You. If there is any unforgiveness or negative emotions I have toward them, I ask You to help me to forgive them because love keeps no record of wrongs. I choose now to forgive them. I release them from all judgment, and I ask You to bless them.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.