First Forgive
There is a sequence to many things in life. One simple example is preparing food. The sequence is: purchase, prepare, cook, serve, and eat. It would be out of sequence to serve it before it was prepared. There are hundreds of thousands of examples of sequential order in our lives.
Jesus taught His disciples as they walked along the road, as they were eating – pretty much when they were together, He was teaching. He was entering into Jerusalem near the close of His time on earth. He was staying in Bethany in the evening and then going into the city during the day. One day, He went to a fig tree for fruit, and it had none. He spoke to the tree and said, may you never bear fruit again. The next day the disciples saw the tree shriveled up and they commented on it. Jesus then spoke about bold prayer. Check this out…
20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!”
22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. 24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. 25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Mark 11:20-25 NLT)
I think Jesus wowed His disciples right up to the end of His ministry. They hardly knew what to expect next. He used many examples and stories to teach them. He encourages them to pray bold prayers. He reminded them of a sequence though – when you pray, first forgive. I don’t always think about forgiveness at a time when I’m praying, but it’s what He says I should do. I think this little word about “first forgive” speaks to the high value the Lord places on forgiveness of others. Forgiveness is giving up my right to strike back at the other person. Forgiveness is a gift to myself to clear up my heart.
I want to pray bold prayers. I want to do big things for the Kingdom – but first I must forgive. This can be harder than it sounds, but it’s not optional – it’s sequential.
Pressing On!
Dwayne