Mark 11:23-25 (NKJV): For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him...
The word 'forgive' here is 'aphiemi' in Greek, which can mean 'to leave (the matter) and let alone, to leave (the matter) and let go, to lay aside (a hurt or a fault), to pardon and send away, to release and send away'.
I heard and released these words to the congregation recently:
"Forgive! The grace to forgive is here. This is a time to receive forgiveness and this is a time to release forgiveness, so that your prayers will not be hindered!"
And then I heard further:
"This is a time to release and send away those 'prisoners' you have been keeping in the 'prison' of your heart!"
Indeed, to 'bottle up' hurts, faults, anger or resentment (against anyone who may have hurt or offended you) is like keeping that person (or persons) in the 'prison' of your heart. It is burdensome. It is taxing. It is cumbersome. It kills off joy in life! In fact, some of these 'prisoners' might not even know they have hurt or offended you in any way, but you've been keeping them in your 'prison' all these years!
Some might ask, "But what does forgiveness have to do with prayers being answered?" Friends, it has everything to do with your prayers being answered! The Word of God says so. Otherwise, Jesus (for He is the Word of God) wouldn't have mentioned about forgiveness when He spoke to His disciples about prayers being answered!
As our cross-reference, let's look at Matthew 18:18-20 now. Here, Jesus said, "Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
And watch what comes right after the verses above! Matthew 18:21-22 then says, '...Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Then Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."'
Do you see again how 'forgiveness' is connected to your prayers being answered?
Not only that, forgiveness leads to healing as well! David wrote in Psalm 103:1-3, 'Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases...' Notice forgiveness comes first, and then healing follows? In other words, every healing (whether it's for an individual, a family, a land, or even a nation) begins with forgiveness.
"But what does it mean by 'up to seven times' and 'up to seventy times seven'?"
A lot of people don't understand what Jesus meant here, and different Bible commentaries may interpret it differently. But when you look at the meaning of 'seven' and 'seventy' in Hebrew numeric, you will understand. Let me explain. If the number 'seven' means 'perfect, or perfection', then 'to forgive up to seven times' simply means we are 'to forgive perfectly'!
"But I find it hard, even impossible to forgive perfectly!"
And that's when the number 'seventy' comes in! Interestingly, do you know what the number 'seventy' means in Hebrew? It means 'God's Spirit'! Therefore, 'to forgive up to seventy times seven' actually means 'to forgive perfectly with the help of God's Spirit (i.e. the Holy Spirit)'! In other words, of course you may find it hard, even impossible to forgive perfectly by your own human effort, but with the help of God's Spirit (i.e. the Holy Spirit), it's so much easier!
In short, here's the difference between 'up to seven times' and 'up to seventy times seven':
'To forgive up to seven times' = depending on your own self (own human effort) to forgive perfectly.
'To forgive up to seventy times seven' = depending on the Holy Spirit to work in you to forgive perfectly.
As you can see above, it does take the Holy Spirit to work in us to forgive perfectly! Simply because the Holy Spirit is perfect, whereas you and I (by ourselves) aren't! Also, the Holy Spirit is first and foremost the Spirit of love (see Galatians 5:22-23), and this love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, 'Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails...' 1 Corinthians 13:10 then says, '...when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away'. See the word 'perfect' here?
Indeed, Jesus is the personification of God's perfect love that never fails (see 1 John 4:16), and it is out of this perfect love that forgiveness flows. Luke 23:32-34 says, 'There were also two others, criminals, led with Jesus to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots'.
And you know what? Philippians 2:8-11 shows us just what happened to Jesus soon after! The Scripture says, 'And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father'.
When you learn to forgive, God's name is glorified!
By the way, do you know on what occasion was the word 'forgive' first mentioned in the Bible? It's in Genesis 50:17, about Joseph forgiving his brothers after their father (Jacob) had died. Here's what Genesis 50:15-21 say, 'When Joseph's brothers saw that their father (Jacob) was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may repay us for all the evil we did to him." So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died, he commanded, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants." Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them'.
As a result, there was a wholesome reconciliation and unity among the sons of Jacob (Israel), and indeed, God's name is glorified! Simply because Joseph had learned to forgive - a far cry from those days when he brought bad reports against his brothers (see Genesis 37:2). He has certainly been changed by the Lord through the years, to the glory of God the Father.
Beloved of God, may the Lord also grant you peace and a heart to forgive. In Jesus' name. Amen.
