"When you are praying FIRST FORGIVE anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in Heaven will forgive your sins too."
Are you holding a grudge against anyone right now? If you want your prayers to be answered you will have to let go of any grudges and leave them behind you. Do you have a problem with your mother or father, sister or brother? Is your grudge against your school, country, a sexual or ethnic group? When you carry or hold onto a grudge, it is like carrying a big bag of smelly fertilizer on your back. You can smell it and so can everyone else. Every once in while you may want to open the bag and stir it up with a stick so it smells even more and maintains its pungent aroma. Some people even carry multiple bags and it becomes overwhelming for them to maneuver in this world. Do a smell test now, are you carrying any smelly bags of grudge?
The Lord wants you to forgive those people right now, leave your grudges behind and let them go. If you want to be forgiven, you have to forgive. You have shortcomings and you are not perfect so how can you hold anyone else to a standard of perfection? You must be willing to forgive and forget if you want the Lord to forgive and forget your trespasses and sins. If you have never sinned, then this message does not apply to you! How about you, have you sinned?If you have then you had better listen to the Truth For Today!
We all want our prayers to be answered. If you feel your prayers are not being answered then you need to look for the reasons. When you are praying, FIRST FORGIVE, anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in Heaven will forgive your sins and be able to answer your prayers. Make sure that your slate is clean and you have removed the log in your eye before you want another to remove the splinter in their eye. Be sure you have forgiven your mother or father, your sister or brother and anyone else you have held a grudge against. Take the smelly bag of fertilizer on your back and lay it down at the feet of Jesus. Let it go and give it to the Lord. Put it down this instant. FORGIVE FIRST, then pray!
