Lord, help me to forgive

“Lord God, give me more grace (James 4:6) so that I may increasingly extend it to others.”Jesus,I need you. I need you every hour. There isn’t a moment that goes by that I am not in need of you and your grace. Even when I turn from you in ignorance and sin, I still need you then, whether I realize it or not. My need for you remains. Help me to grasp the reality that even though I’ve done NOTHING to deserve your grace and your forgiveness, all I need to do is ask for it (1 John 1:9), and you freely give it. Remind me of that promise when I’m tempted to withhold grace and to harbor bitterness in my heart instead of extending forgiveness. Lord, you know that I’ve been hurt, offended, disappointed, rejected, used, abused, mistreated, lied to, betrayed, and dismissed, but so have you. There isn’t a single struggle that I face that you have not already endured, and yet you still choose to offer forgiveness and grace to those who come to you seeking after it, to the very ones that have wronged you…to me. Help me to imitate your behavior, Lord. When I’m frustrated and angry, when I’m wallowing in self-pity and resentment, help me to look to your face and to remember all that you went through on my behalf. In my willingness to remember what you went through, swell my heart with a willingness to forgive. I don’t want to withhold forgiveness any longer. It only destroys my soul. I don’t want to be bitter and resentful any longer. Those emotions are damaging and continue to lead me further from your embrace. I don’t want to withhold grace from others. Because I am so desperately in need of your grace, help me to see that others are, too. Help me to be a conduit of your love, grace, and forgiveness. When people look at me, help them to see you. Each time I choose to forgive, a heavy weight is lifted off of my shoulders. I don’t want to be burdened by the weight of unforgiveness anymore. I release it all to you. Will your grace ever run out on me? No, it won’t. So, help me to never refuse grace to someone else. Forgive me for excusing this sin away in my life with the notion that “they don’t deserve my forgiveness; they don’t deserve my grace.” How dare I say that they are undeserving when I am just as undeserving of grace. Transform my mind and give me the mind of Christ, so that when I’m given an opportunity to forgive, I would respond as you would, Jesus. When I feel powerless and defeated in this, Lord, forgive through me. Help me to recognize that any and all obedience in my life is the work of the Holy Spirit in me, not my own strength. Teach me to lean on you and to lean into you that much more when I find myself struggling to forgive. I want to be more like you, Jesus. I want to live a life of love. I want to have joy and to know peace. Lord, help me to forgive.