277. Why do we need to pray for God's forgiveness?
A. We sin every day and deserve nothing but God's punishment.
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Psalm 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Genesis 32:10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown to Your servant.
B. We pray for God's forgivenes because without it, we cannot pray to God for anything and expect Him graciously to hear and to answer.
Isaiah 59:2 Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Ephesians 6:16-18 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
C. Forgiveness frees us by giving us peace with God.
Psalm 32:1-5 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Note: "If God does not forgive without stopping, we are lost. ... For where the heart is not in a right relationship with God, or cannot take such confidence, it will not dare to pray anymore. Such a confident and joyful heart can spring from nothing else than the certain knowledge of the forgiveness of sin" (LC III 91-92).
Eventual commentary
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