A Prayer for Forgiveness

Our Father in heaven, we bow before You so grateful for the grace by which You have reconciled us to Yourself in and through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord. We are very conscious of being Your wayward children. We are profoundly aware of things we have thought, said, and done, that are displeasing and dishonoring to You. Please forgive us for these sins.

And Father we are aware of not only what we have done, but of what we have not done. We have not loved You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We’re not even close. We are profoundly aware of our debt, and we ask that You forgive us for our frequent failure to love others well.

Father, we are sinners, but we also have been sinned against. We bring before You the pain of where we have been wronged. By Your grace, help us to wring out our pain at the foot of the cross of Jesus.

Father, thank You that our many sins can be forgiven through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your promise to put our sins behind Your back, to bury them in the depth of the sea, and to remove them from us as far as the east is from the west. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us from every sin we pray.

Now Father, give us the grace we need to forgive others, as You forgive us. Help us to love others well. Grant that we may grow in consideration, empathy, grace, and forgiveness. Let Your grace to us flow out from us in this harsh and unforgiving world, so that Your name will be honored, Your kingdom extended, and Your will done, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

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This prayer is adapted from the sermon “God’s Forgiveness” from the series on the Lord’s Prayer, Six Things to Ask of God.