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“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone . . .”
—Jesus
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Would you do me a favor and take a deep breath? I mean a deep, deep breath. An inhale that makes you feel like you’re on the verge of exploding. Okay, hold that breath, don’t let any of it out.
Now, try your best to take another breath, without letting go of any air. You can’t do it, right? For us to breathe, we must inhale and exhale. (I know this is deep stuff.)
When it comes to prayer, forgiveness is air.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says “whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). Notice the words whenever, anything, and anyone—they leave no room for caveats. Jesus doesn’t say sometimes, somethings, or some people. If our prayers are to have life, we must pray forgive us as we forgive others.
In John’s gospel, Jesus breathes on his followers, filling their lungs with the good news of forgiveness, a message they are to breathe out and into the world. But he warns them that if they withhold forgiveness, their lives will not become extensions of the Gospel, and the life of the Spirit’s recreative power will not flow through them.
Response
Have your prayers felt out of breath? Is there a person (or people) who came to mind as you read my words? Once you finish this Entry, please take a moment to visualize that person or persons. Once they’ve taken shape in your spirit, breathe out forgiveness. If you’re struggling to find air, ask for the grace to breathe out and breathe deeply again. A person who can’t forgive has lost sight of their need for forgiveness. “To understand is to forgive” (Pascal).
It’s all an injustice, they don’t belong to my prayers, you might think. You don’t know what they did to me. Yes, that is true. But God does. And He promises that only forgiveness can create the conditions for clarity and justice. Let’s not forget forgiveness only takes one, reconciliation takes two. Don’t worry about what a path toward reconciliation may require of you. The first step is to simply forgive.
If we refuse to forgive, our prayers will literally and figuratively run out of breath.
Unforgiveness keeps us from knowing what to pray, and it causes our relationship with God to devolve into bitterness and disappointment. But as we exhale forgiveness, a spaciousness is formed in us, and we find the capacity to move through conflicts and concerns.
Closing Thoughts
According to Jesus, forgiveness is a matter of life and death. Being who he was (and is), Jesus knew we’d struggle to forgive, so he doesn’t mince words: if we are to have a vibrant life, we must receive and extend forgiveness, letting its healing powers refresh our souls, dignify our pain, and direct our words.
Breathing with you,
Addison
P.S. I wrote a lot about praying through forgiveness in Words with God. If you’re new to this journey of rediscovering prayer as a way of life and don’t have the book yet, just click here to get yours.
P.P.S. If it’d be more convenient for you to receive these prayer guides via text, just click here.
