Joe & Becky Cruse

How are you today? I trust you are walking in God’s favor and blessing! I want to share something today that I believe is one of the greatest keys to effective praying.

Mark 11:24-25 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” We all hang on v 24 and claim that as our own. But what about v 25?

Just how important is it to walk in forgiveness? Forgiveness is an extremely important issue in the lives of all people. .
Forgiving others leads to life, both abundant life here and now and eternal life, which will last forever with the LORD. Forgiveness of others is not an option if a person wants to receive.

Let’s talk first about the flip-side of forgiveness, which is unforgiveness. ??Have you ever known someone who is so emotionally dried up and bitter that they won’t allow anyone “inside” their walls? The cause is usually a deep hurt that has been allowed to remain in the heart. This pain is caused by unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness leads to death. If a person refuses to forgive they will eventually become a bitter person.
Some people are afraid to enter into the realm of friendship or marriage as a result of an inability to forgive others. The worst effect resulting from inability to give forgiveness is the inability to receive forgiveness. ?How important is forgiveness? ?

?Matthew 6:14-15 says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your HEAVENLY FATHER will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your FATHER will not forgive your sins.”??

This may seem a bit harsh. Of course, you are forgiven on the basis of JESUS dying for your sins on the cross. And that is the exact point. JESUS died for you while you were in sin! And your sin was laid on HIS spotless and perfect shoulders at Calvary. He forgave you so completely that it cost Him, His life!??

Now you must be willing to do the same for others. And here is why: Forgiveness brings freedom.

Not just for the person you are not forgiving, but also for you! That’s right. Not forgiving is like taking a chain and wrapping it around yourself and the person you are refusing to forgive, tying you both together. Nothing can break that chain but an act of your own will. Your will remember, not your emotions.

Friends, if you feel that sometimes your prayers don’t get above your ceiling, check your hearts and make sure you aren’t covering areas such as unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, resentment, etc. Answered prayers are dependent on you living a life free of these weights.

As we pray corporately this week, we are praying for:

1. our families, children, youth, and singles at CWC
2. our business people for job promotions and raises
3. our students, graduation and their future
4. our leadership/pastors
5. our civil authorities
6. our services this week
7. our lost family members and friends
8. finances and favor for the property
9. Bro. Don Denny’s continued recovery from back surgery
10. Sharon Darst’s daughter, Ashley as she goes on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic

Have a great week and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for prayer @ the Recharge Service Wednesday and our Sunday Celebration.

Blessings,
Ps Joe and Becky and the team

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 13th, 2010 at 3:33 pm and is filed under Becky's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.