Acts 8:6-8 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
 
JESUS’ Great Commission is a command with promise and hope as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Jesus said there would be revival in the world. People and nations would change in the gospel’s power. This became real in Philip’s preaching in Samaria in Acts 8. It is what happened in the U.S. in the Layman’s Prayer Revival from 1857-59.
    We have seen the past few days how this revival began with one man’s prayer. It spread throughout New York City and into the eastern U.S. And you’ll see today how it spread into people’s lives as God fulfilled the Great Commission promise. Here is more from “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. We are defining “revival” as turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God.
 
Amazing answers to prayer were recorded across the nation. One man spoke of his burden for an unconverted son. This son, who had traveled across the world, was converted soon after the request was made at Fulton Street. One young man came to the meeting seeking salvation. He was converted after hearing a request by a mother for her son. “It struck me that the request was from my mother,” the youth reported. “After the meeting I got sight of that request. And sure enough, it was from my mother, in her own handwriting.”
 
    “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Have you ever considered how these words point us to John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The world is God’s. He has promised mankind that many will receive his salvation as they call on his name. Each disciple, as did Philip and the early apostles, must have seen the world as one community under God’s sovereign authority. Revival comes to new places when true disciples eagerly go into “God’s community” to pray and preach the miraculous work of God’s salvation.  
 
Prayer: My Father in Heaven, you are truly Father of all the world. I pray I see all people of the world as my brothers and sisters. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Luke 10:27 He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
WE begin with the Great Command to be reminded that true love for God is a key element of revival. Let’s continue with excerpts from “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. “Revival” means turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God.
 
The overall spirit of the meetings was one of deep love for Christ. Many unchurched residents were amazed at the love among believers, the prayer, and the answers to prayer. People came (to New York City) from as far as St. Louis to be a part of the movement of prayer. The meetings were multi-denominational and cut across economic lines.

The spirit of prayer also led to unusual effectiveness in preaching. While a movement of prayer, the revival yet featured significant sermonic content. By the fall of 1858, large halls in New York City were filled to capacity: The Cooper Institute, where 2,500 gathered and thousands were turned away, while the Academy of Music filled throughout the winter every Sunday night for gospel preaching.

Simultaneously, revival came to areas across the nation. In Boston, a daily prayer meeting had been going on for years before 1858. As news of the growing prayer movement in New York came to Boston, a businessman’s meeting for prayer was set in the South Church downtown. The first day, the place was so filled some could not enter. Charles Finney, in the latter stages of his ministry, was preaching at the Park Street Church in Boston. He described the revival that soon swept Boston as “too general to keep any account at all of the number of converts, or to allow any estimate being made that would approximate the truth.” Across Massachusetts some 150 churches reported revival. Nearby Connecticut was also hit with a wave of unusual prayer meetings. Rhode Island experienced unprecedented movements of the Spirit in 1858. Revival touched every major city in the Midwest: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, Indianapolis, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis. In only two months in the state of Ohio, 200 towns recorded twelve thousand conversions. Prayer meetings sprang up everywhere.
 
    This is truly loving God and God loving his people, isn’t it? People hallowed – made holy – the Father’s name. They honored him with prayer, preaching, hearing and worship. The good news became real news to America. Imagine today if this evening’s headline or “breaking news” report was, “Revival is growing throughout the nations. Churches, theaters and even stadiums are filled with people who love God. They go to pray. They go to hear from God. They go to hallow the Father’s name.”
    Loving God and loving others, how revived would our world become? Let’s join praying hands as God’s people to pray, “Hallowed be your name, Father. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Then eagerly await what the Lord will do.
 
Prayer: Turn my heart to first love you, Lord. I pray your love becomes a reviving flood over the entire earth. In Jesus’ name, amen.

1 Corinthians 14:24-26 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 
 
AS we’ve been focused these past few days on revival, this has been to understand that revival is not an event, but revival is turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God. Jesus said it this way in John 3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
    As the Spirit gives new life, people begin to act differently, don’t they? You could say that in the Spirit’s power and Jesus’ saving work, our souls have come from a tomb of death into the garden of life. Just as Mary, then, met the risen Savior in the garden of his resurrection, she could touch, hold and be held by the revived Savior. He acted into his new life, and so will all who have been born gain. I believe, then, it would be appropriate to also define revival as “A total awareness God is present with you!” That was certainly evident to Mary, then to his disciples. This was also the reality of the Layman’s Prayer Revival from 1857-1859 begun in New York City.
    Let’s learn more about people becoming totally aware of God’s presence among them from the book “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. We left off yesterday noting that in January of 1858 “many were beginning to discuss a ‘great revival’ that had ensued.”
 
Almost simultaneously, prayer meetings were begun across the city. Many churches sponsored such meetings without knowledge of other activity similar to their own. Within six months, 50,000 were meeting daily in New York, while thousands more prayed in other cities. On March 17, 1858, Burton’s Theater near the North Dutch Church opened for noon prayer. The theater was filled to capacity by 11:30 a.m.
 
Evening preaching services soon accompanied the daily prayer meetings. Lanphier and the church set up seven rules for the meetings: 1) Open with a brief hymn. 2) Opening prayer. 3) Read a passage of Scripture. 4) Take time for requests, exhortations, and prayers. Prayer would follow each request or at most two requests, while individuals were limited to five minutes of prayer/comments. 5) No controversial subjects were to be mentioned. 6) At five minutes before 1:00 7) a hymn was sung so the meeting could end at 1:00 promptly.
     
Such rules illustrate the fact that, while revival is a spontaneous movement marked by a departure from normal services, offering guidance need not hinder the work of the Spirit. In addition, in stark contradiction to the typical prayer meetings of our day, requests were almost exclusively about spiritual needs. Prayers for physical needs seemed insignificant in light of the stark spiritual needs of the day.
 
    See in this account the power of praying, “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” People were not praying for worldly or temporary needs. They were praying for spiritual needs. They repented. They sought healing for their souls. They prayed for the Spirit’s fruit in their lives. They prayed for the church and the city. They prayed for Jesus to revive their souls, so they would see Jesus act into others’ lives. People were convinced, “I have a problem. I am a sinner. I need Jesus.”
    In response, they worshiped God. And God expanded his grace into his people. These people lived into God’s Word, “All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” The Spirit had acted to call people to pray. They prayed, and the Spirit responded to make God apparent among them.
    Then note the orderly process. Spirit-led worship and prayer does not mean we do as we please. From the early writings of the Bible in Genesis 4, God has ordained our worship is to be done in particular ways. Paul defined those ways further. God plans revivals, so he is worshiped. Revival came in God’s ways. People prayed. People worshiped in God’s constructive order. God showed himself, and many thousands were born again.
 
Prayer: Lord God, you have resurrected Jesus from the tomb. Revive dead souls this day into eternal life. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Acts 2:2-3 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 
 
“SUDDENLY” is a word in Scripture that is very often connected to a great work or awakening from God upon his people. In addition to the account above of the Spirit suddenly beginning the church, here are two other examples: Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Paul’s revival in Acts 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
    Let’s continue our look at the Layman’s Prayer Revival of 1857-1859. You will see how suddenly God revived unsuspecting souls, churches, cities, and more. Here is an excerpt from “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. Remember, “revival” is turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God.
 
As noted earlier, the power of prayer was demonstrated in the union prayer meetings inaugurated by Jeremiah Lanphier. In fact, the name given to the general awakening is taken from these meetings, which began in New York and spread nationwide. Prayer meetings rather than preaching services became the means for spreading revival fire. Certainly preaching played a vital role; but in most cases, preaching services came as a result of prayer meetings.  
     
The Prayer Revival began with several unrelated movements of revival that ultimately became one. There was no planning, no major call to prayer, no attempt to propagate revival. A contemporary of the revival said, “This advent was so sudden and heralded, that ministers were in many cases taken by surprise, and scarcely able to realize that awakening [was] breathing on the hearts of their congregations.
     
As a result, the pastors were encouraged to preach on revival the first Sunday of the New Year of 1858 to be followed the next Thursday with a day of fasting and humiliation. A similar conference was held in Cincinnati following the first. By this time, many were beginning to discuss a ‘great revival’ that had ensued.  
   
    Suddenly, God acted, didn’t he? Who expected the Spirit to come at Pentecost to begin the church in the way he did? Who considered the angels to suddenly appear over Bethlehem’s night sky? Surely, Paul did not expect his life to suddenly change in Jesus’ reviving power. No one – no minister, no evangelist, no lay person, no church member – expected God to suddenly revive thousands of hearts through one man’s prayer in a declining church amid a sin-laden culture in New York City.
    Are we without hope today? Do we think God cannot suddenly act to revive his truth into the hearts of mankind worldwide? No, we are not to think this way. This is putting mankind’s sins above God’s reviving power. Let’s get on our knees and pray. Let’s believe in God to suddenly change hearts. Let’s see how God’s Kingdom will come over our own lives, our towns, our nations and the earth.
 
Prayer: Suddenly come, Spirit, to revive our long dead souls. Stop the murders. Stop the abortions. Stop the self-serving lies of our lives. Start new life in our souls. Bring new life to our cities. Protect the innocent. Surround the saints. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
 
WE continue today with our look at prayer’s power to revive souls through the book “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. Today we’ll see how prayer ignited a great change primarily in northeastern U.S., parts of Canada and even unto the seas through what has become called “The Layman’s Prayer Revival of 1857-1859. Let’s continue to be alert to the meaning of “Revival”. Revival is salvation to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and then to live into our Lord’s teachings. Revival is turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God. Here is what happened in The Layman’s Prayer Revival of 1857-59:
 
The Problem:
Under the leadership of Jeremiah Lanphier, this revival ignited during a small noonday prayer meeting in September 1857 in the Old Dutch Reform Church on Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York. The residents of New York City exhibited a deep decline in godly affections. The old downtown North Dutch Reformed Church employed Jeremiah Lanphier to influence their area of New York City for the gospel. Lanphier was a forty-year-old single businessman filled with enthusiasm. Like most leaders of this revival, Lanphier served as a layman. He began his assignment on July 1, 1857. He put together a folder describing the church and commending his lay missionary work. But he was overwhelmed at the enormity of the task. He prayed, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?
 
The Solution:
This led him to a novel approach. Lanphier had found prayer to be a great source of comfort. He had noticed how the businessmen were “hurrying along their way, often with care worn faces, and anxious, restless gaze.” He presented to the church board the idea of a prayer meeting for businessmen. Their response was less than enthusiastic, but they agreed to allow Lanphier to proceed.
 
Determining that the noon hour was the most feasible time for a prayer meeting, he printed and distributed a handbill publicizing the meeting. He promoted the meeting with great zeal. At first, Lanphier prayed alone. Then, one joined him, and by the end of the hour there were six. Prayer meetings had been held before, but this was different. Former meetings tended toward formalism and routine. These meetings inaugurated by Lanphier were free and spontaneous.
 
The following Wednesday, there were 20, and on the third, 30 to 40. Those present determined to meet daily rather than weekly. On October 14, 1857 over 100 came. At this point, many in attendance were unsaved persons, many of whom were under great conviction of sin. By the end of the second month, three large rooms were filled.
  
   As we stop here today, note these reasons Mr. Lanphier went to pray: 1) A passion for people – Mr. Lanphier was eager to begin his assignment to evangelize the gospel in New York City. 2) Humility – “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” is being humble to call on the name of the Lord to seek not our own ideas but the Sovereign Lord’s leading. 3) Mr. Lanphier was a layman, “Like most leaders of this revival.” Know this: you don’t need to be a professional minister to minister the gospel. Mr. Lanphier was serious about his faith. He wanted to do as Jesus – pray to the Father for the people of his area. 4) Mr. Lanphier began alone – alone my friends. How often have prayer efforts in your church felt lonely? Stay with what God has told you to do. Wait for him to respond. 5) God is the author of his revival. We are his tools. Mr. Lanphier was willing for God to use him.
 
Prayer: What will you have me do, Lord? Your Kingdom come, your will be done through me, through my church and in my city as it is in Heaven. Amen.
 

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
 
WE continue with pointing to prayer’s power to ignite revival as we view excerpts from “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. “Revival”, remember, is not an event. It is a spiritual resurrection of the soul, turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God. From Firefall 2.0:
 
God stands always as the grand architect of spiritual awakening. As we study spiritual movements in history, we also recognize that revivals are the products of the cooperative efforts between God and His people. Renewal requires both the supernatural and the natural.
 
In the supernatural, God invades the lives of His people, exercises His sovereignty, releases His power, and fulfills His purposes. In the natural, the Christian fulfills the requirements of 2 Chronicles 7:14: humility, prayer, seeking God, and repentance.
 
When Christians cooperate, God produces revival. God’s reasons for His divine interventions are preparation, proclamation, and preservation. 1) In preparation, God rearranges the trajectory of His people, preparing them to fulfill their Kingdom mission. 2) In proclamation, God empowers His people to proclaim prophetically and compassionately His divine reconciliation. 3) In preservation, God intensifies discipleship, intensifies evangelistic outreach and conserves results.
  
   See the points here: Revival is a God-initiated interaction with mankind to point mankind to our Creator. Jesus said it this way, “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:10) When we faithfully follow the Lord, we are walking with him. The “with” is key. With him as a disciple, you become one who speaks and acts as Jesus. You interact with him, taking on his character. This is revival. Coming alive in the living Lord. We are no longer with sin, but with the sinless one.
   See what happens. With Jesus, we become more humble to say, “I need Jesus.” In that humility we pray to seek his “will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”.
   Even more, humility leads to repentance to pray, “Forgive me my sins. Lead me not into temptation. Deliver me from evil.” That’s revival language. It is revival faith and expectation.  
   Do you begin to see how Jesus’ teaching on prayer is teaching you toward revival? Praying as Jesus prayed will lead you toward God, who promises, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
   This is sure: We need God’s healing over our land – our homes, our cities, our nation and our world. In the next few lessons, we’ll see a specific example of prayer igniting a mass revival in the United States.
 
Prayer: I pray I will be humble to seek your face, Lord, and to turn from my wicked ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Luke 11:4b “And lead us not into temptation.”
 
Ephesians 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
 
BEFORE continuing further in Luke, we are stopping to grow into a deeper understanding of prayer’s power to revive. To do so, I will be quoting excerpts from a book called “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. As the title says, it relates the history of God initiating revival into his people to draw them into salvation, to give life to his church and to change cultures. Note, too, that “revival” is basically defined as turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God. In our day, “revival” has come to mean a series of gatherings to hear the gospel preached. Sadly it has come to mean a human-organized event and not Spirit-empowered salvation to revive mankind from sin’s death.
   Sin’s death is mankind’s problem, isn’t it? Paul’s words to the Ephesians is an essential Christian lesson. Our nature is to sin, to think and act against God’s commands. In our sin, we are objects of God’s wrath. We all need reviving into Jesus’ salvation. Without revival, we live very difficult, empty lives on earth. Without revival, we perish eternally. More pointedly, McDow & Reid write of places the culture “leads us into temptation”.
 
From social media to smart phones, from bloggers to hackers, we live in arguably the most dramatic time of change in human history. News from anywhere on the earth can be accessed immediately, offering the possibility of spreading the gospel in ways never known before. But even as our digital age affords the opportunity to connect globally, there still resides in the heart of every person a hunger for God and a desire for more than a social network and a Google search. (Underline mine.) People still want to know God and to see Him move. The question for us today is less, “How will He move in our time?” It is more, “Can we see Him at work today, and can we put ourselves in a position where God can use us for His glory?”
 
These questions can be answered in part by asking the questions: “How has God moved in the past, and what can we learn from how He has moved previously to be ready for His fresh wind to blow in our time?”  
  
   The problems strive against us, don’t they? The world intrudes into our souls to lead us into temptation and to keep us away from our Creator. Tomorrow, we’ll look at how God has moved to draw people out of sin and into him, so you are still able to gather today in his church to pray.
 
Prayer: Father, I know my chief problem is sin. It keeps me from you. Teach me to pray for revival, trusting you will bring new life where sin’s death now reigns. In Jesus’ name, amen.
 

 

cts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. 
 
IF you missed the last few days’ teachings, note I have only left Luke for a few days to focus on prayer. My goal here is to encourage us all toward prayer’s power to revive lives, the church, cities and even nations.
   Prayer is often a challenge for me, and I think for many. We can find it difficult, as Jesus’ disciples did, to know how to pray and what to say. Sadly, I believe my problem is not trusting God enough to hear and answer my prayers. Do you feel those same faith challenges, too?
   These past few weeks, I believe the Holy Spirit has been helping me overcome these faith challenges. One way is reading a book called “Firefall 2.0 How God Shaped History through Revivals” by Malcolm McDow & Alvin R. Reid. As the title says, it relates the history of God initiating revival into his people to draw them into salvation, to give life to his church and to change cultures. “Revival” is basically defined as turning from sin’s death to becoming alive in God.
   Now here is how revival and prayer connect. Since Jesus ascended to Heaven, do you know when God acted to ignite each revival? Read again the Scripture above. What were Jesus’ followers doing? “They all joined together constantly in prayer.”
   You might say, “I know I/we need to pray.” I have often spoken those words, too. But I believe I have been too blind to prayer’s power. Surely it is my sin nature that causes my mind to doubt prayer is God’s means toward revival. Also, I believe it is the church’s customs, including those I’ve followed as a pastor, that have limited my mind toward prayer. We can easily become too consumed with form while negating faith.
   Let’s look tomorrow, then, at some excerpts from “Revival 2.0” to see how prayer has been God’s tool to revive individuals, churches, communities, nations and even the world at times. Meanwhile, make the Lord’s Prayer your prayer. Where the Scripture says “our” “us” say, instead, “my”, “me” and “I”.
 
Prayer: My Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name. I pray your Kingdom come, your will is done in my life as it is in Heaven. Give to me this day my bread. Forgive my sins as I forgive those who sin against me. Lead me not into temptation. Deliver me from evil. For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Luke 11:4b “And lead us not into temptation.”
 
I confess. For many years I had thought this fifth petition of the Lord’s teaching on prayer to be a bit odd. “Why,” I wondered, “would we have to pray that God will not lead us to be tempted? Surely, he doesn’t let sin get close to us, does he?” Apparently, I had much to learn of God and his Word. Scripture is very clear I was mistaken. Since Genesis 3, sin has consistently intruded into our lives, confronting and tempting us away from God and toward spiritual death. Peter’s words, too, are an unmistakable warning against sin’s threat: 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
   Does this cause you to shudder? It should. Such words must turn your warning systems to full alert. A deadly terrorist is at war with your soul! Evil pursues you with various methods. It may be to pursue pleasure to distrust God’s commands or through persecution to doubt God’s love. 
   Jesus knows we all will walk into temptation’s dangers. He watched mankind’s soul die in the Garden of Eden. He witnessed sin’s separating jealousies influence Jacob’s family. He shuddered to watch Israel’s idolatrous child sacrifice. Then the incarnate God experienced temptation face-to-face in the desert (Luke 4). Jesus, the man, fully knew temptation’s physical and emotional distress. The loving Son of God, rabbi, teacher and friend, wants to save us from sin’s strife, anxiety, pain and emotional agony. His purpose is to keep us from sin’s death.
   Thus, he tells us to pray, “Do not lead me to temptation, Spirit. Keep me safe where you are. When sin stands before me, turn my eyes to Jesus’ sacrificial love. Protect me in Jesus’ blood in the power of the cross.”
   Pray this type of prayer. Be alert. Be reminded of the temptation in your daily life. Faithfully turn your eyes from the many immoral images assaulting you each day. Close your ears to the atrocious language that minimizes and criticizes others. Keep away from the places where you might say, “No.” to God’s Word.
   Prayer is the key to ignite change in our lives and in the Kingdom of God. Tomorrow I’ll share evidence of prayaer’s power to revive people, churches and nations into a loving life with   
 
Prayer: My Father in Heaven, I pray you keep your name holy and incorruptible. Your kingdom come, so your will is fully accomplished in my life, in my family, in my neighborhood, in my church, in my city and in my state. Bring Heaven to earth, Lord, so we live in your great wonder and love. Keep me from temptation and sin. Forgive my sin. May my heart always forgive others. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Luke 11:4 “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”
 
THE gospel of Matthew records this as “Forgive us our debs as we also have forgiven our debtors. ((Matthew 6:12 of the New International Version) Some churches say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive those who trespass against us.”  “Debt” and “trespass” point to one owing property or money to another. They point to the ways sin takes from our relationship with God or another person to cause a debt of wrong we are to repay.
   Think of how Satan trespassed into the Garden of Eden to cause Eve and Adam to sin against God’s Word. Sin stole perfection between God and his creation. It robbed God of some of the love, honor and obedience the first couple expressed toward their Creator. Mankind has been repaying that debt since the day it was incurred.
   Think, too, that if you lie to someone, you steal that person’s trust from your relationship. Also, we all know families who deal with one member trespassing against the others regarding a parent’s inheritance. They owe a debt of money to the siblings. Greed has stolen the relationship.
   You see sin’s debt, too, in Paul’s “sin list” in Galatians 5:20 “idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.” Wow! These are terrible, debt-forming words, aren’t they? Consider how idolatry and witchcraft steal honor and worship from God. Jealousy, discord, anger, etc. rob the sweet taste of “the fruit of the Spirit (that) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) God requires forgiveness to repay what someone has taken from you.
   That’s why “forgive us our sins” is such a huge faith statement. I urge you to make these words your prayer. Say to the Lord, “Forgive me my sin as I also forgive everyone who sins against me.” Such language stirs you to confess, “I have sinned.” You realize you have taken something from a relationship. You are prepared to replenish what you owe. Second, “Forgive me.” declares you believe God has the will and the power to forgive your trespasses against his laws.  
   Third, as you say, “As I also forgive everyone who sins against me.” you graciously forgive as God has forgiven you. As much as someone has taken from you – your dignity, your love, your money, your peace – you are to forgive them for all their debt against you. God is teaching us to follow his example. Forgive those who owe to you.
   Is it fair to simply forgive someone their debt and count it paid? Who’s talking fair? God is speaking grace and love. Think how unfair God is to have canceled your debt as you confess your sin. Remember that one reason the disciple asked Jesus to, “Teach us to pray.” was to learn more of Jesus’ character. As we understand that prayer involves forgiveness, we are reminded of God’s gracious character to forgive us our debts. After all, who unfairly paid your sin’s debt incurred in Eden?
   1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  
   Your Lord Jesus teaches you of God’s character as you pray “forgive me”. Then he fully revealed his forgiving character on the cross. As you confess his blood over you, your debts are paid. You no longer trespass into God’s Kingdom, but you become an adopted child of the King. Your sins are gone. Be his disciple. Walk in his footsteps. Speak as he speaks. Love as he loves. Forgive as he forgives. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
 
Prayer: Father, forgive me for taking love and worship from you in my sins. Grant me the grace to forgive those who have stolen from me as I have stolen from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.