Is there anyone you need to forgive? Sometime it's hard to forgive, but to refuse causes even more problems. Refusing to forgive others has serious results in our relationship with God. He forgives us and expects us to forgive others. "And forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us" (Matthew 6:12, NLT).
Someone may say, "I would forgive them, but they don't want my forgiveness." Most people who hurt others could probably not care less about their forgiveness. They could quickly say, "I don't need your forgiveness. I didn't do anything wrong to you." But, it's really not about them, as much as it is about our relationship with God.
Jesus is our example in forgiveness. Hanging on the cross, He prayed that the Father would forgive those who crucified Him. They didn't want His forgiveness. It was about the relationship between Jesus and God the Father.
When others have done something wrong to us, we need to pray for them. Ask God to forgive them, and confess to God that we forgive them. At that point, God begins to heal our emotional wounds. We are released from the bondage of bitterness, when we forgive.
