• Forgiveness is not saying that what a person did to you is okay. It is not okay. It will never be okay. It was wrong.

• Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is obedience to God’s Word. It is a choice. It is a decision to obey God.

• Forgiveness is not healing. Forgiveness paves the way or opens the door for healing.

~ Power to Deliver , Stephen Beauchamp 2019

• Forgiveness is a command. One of the biggest mistakes we could ever make is thinking forgiveness is an option; it is a commandment. Forgiveness is releasing the offender to God; it is turning them over to God.

• Since God requires you to forgive, it is something you can do. Some people hold on to their anger as a means of protecting themselves against further abuse, but all they are doing is hurting themselves. Others want revenge. The Bible teaches, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay’, says the Lord” ( Romans 12:19 NIV). Let God deal with the person. Let him or her off your hook because as long as you refuse to forgive someone, you are still hooked to that person. You are still chained to your past bound up in your bitterness. By forgiving, you let the other person off your hook, but he or she is not off God’s hook. You must trust that God will deal with the person justly and fairly, something you simply cannot do.

1. Get alone and ask the Lord to show you the people you need to forgive.

2. Write down the names of people you need to forgive. (They may be from seemingly insignificant incidents, or from the recent past or long ago, like the little girl from the third grade, your fifth-grade schoolteacher, etc.)

3. Include yourself (if applicable)

4. Include any angry feelings toward God (if applicable).

5. Go over each name with the Lord and express to Him how they have hurt you.

6. Write down what they did and why you need to forgive them.

7. List whatever feelings you had and the degree to which you felt them. (Example: “I was so angry, I did not care if they fell and hurt themselves - actually, I wish they had.” “I wished I could have died because of the humiliation.”)

8. Choose to forgive and release them “Lord, I choose to forgive and release (name of person).”

Sample Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I choose to forgive (__Name____) for (__what they did or failed to do__), because it made me feel (__share the painful feelings, for example, rejected, dirty, worthless, or inferior__).

After you have forgiven every person for every painful memory, then pray as follows:

Lord Jesus, I choose not to hold onto my resentment. I relinquish my right to seek revenge and ask you to heal my damaged emotions. Thank You for setting me free from the bondage of my bitterness. I now ask You to bless those who have hurt me In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.