Forgive Us Our Debts

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, January 10, 2006

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." —1 John 1:8

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our debts" (see Matthew 6:12). This word debts could also be translated "sins." Jesus meant that we as Christians need to pray for forgiveness on a regular, even daily basis.

Some of us would say, "I don't think I need to ask God to forgive me on a daily basis. I don't sin that often anymore." Yet the Bible says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

You see, Jesus taught that we are going to sin, and one of the things that will stop our prayers from reaching God is unconfessed sin. So Jesus taught us to pray, "Lord forgive me. Cleanse me."

As we grow as Christians, we will sin less in one sense. We are not going to do the things that we used to do. Thank God! But at the same time, we are going to be more aware of our own sinfulness. We begin to learn more and more about ourselves as we learn more and more about God.

It has been said that the greater the saint, the greater the sense of sin and the awareness of sin within. So remember to pray, "Lord, forgive me."

Used with Permission