The Healing power of Forgiveness
Luke 6:28 NKJV- pray for those who spitefully use you.
Night after night, Mary was beaten by her father when he came home from the bar in a drunken rage. So the first change she got, she left home. Given time, most physical scars begins to heal, but emotional scars can last a lifetime. They can keep you stuck in the pain of the past and cause you valuable relationship. Even the people who love you can grow weary and despair that you'll get better despite their effort to help you. Do you know someone like that? Are you that someone? Do you want to move toward healing and find joy? You can. Mary found it when she decided to forgive her dad and start praying for him. That's when she started to become spiritually and emotionally whole. And she kept on forgiving him and praying for him until he old memories no longer held her prisoner. Jesus said , "pray for those who spitefully use you." The word "spiteful" implied you did not to cause or deserve it, that your offender hurt you for reasons you may never understand. That's why Jesus prayed on the cross " Father, forgive them , for they know what they're doing"(Luke 23:35 NKJV). That doesn't let your offender off the hook. They'll live with the guilt of what they did, and unless they turn to God, for forgiveness they'll have no peace. But you'll hav peace! When you decide to forgive someone, and pray for them, you'll take back your power and reclaim your life.
Unforgiveness is first dangerous to our physical health and also puts a hindrance to our prayer and forgiveness. For Jesus said "If we fail to forgive our brothers, our heavenly father also would not forgive us". And further stress that, if we want to pray and recall that we offended our brother, first , we should leave our sacrifice, go and make reconciliation before giving him our gifts of sacrifice. This is because Forgiveness is the gateway to the answer of our prayers, for God forgive us just as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Forgiving heart is a virtue and should be part of a Christians life, that even in pain Christ demonstrated the important of forgiveness when He said "father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing". He expect us to do the same, no matter how much we suffer pain, how much we are inflicted, Christ expect us to do thesame by forgiving all. Because Forgiveness is a gateway to the answers of our prayer.