A Forgiveness Prayer With Power
So you are back at it again.
Back at secretly biting the yummy cake…
Back at watching the addictive YouTube videos…
Back at hiding your tax papers to evade tax.
And what would people say if I opened my heart? You ask. You have deliberately allowed guilt, shame and regrets to fill your memories.
And what more are you hiding in the closet? But maybe you want to give it up but every time you try, something pulls you back.
Those deep secrets that only you and your God knows about…
They make you feel worthless, lonely and unwanted… and you wonder, will I ever change for the better? Is it possible to forgive myself and bury the past?
Someone important thinks you can. A university of Stanford lecturer, Dr. Fred Luskin, who is the author of ‘Forgiveness for good’ and the director of Stanford university forgiveness project authoritatively says that forgiving oneself is completely possible. It just requires faith and hope.
Luskin argues that the main reason we find it impossible to forgive ourselves is our inclination to cling onto our dark past and the fact that we give chance to guilt in our lives. He continues and says that “It is not just that we feel bad because we know we have done wrong,” instead Luskin says that some people knowingly or unknowingly decide to hold onto their secrets, nursing them inside their minds which then starts to eat them up.
It is for a fact that some of us fail to deal with our challenges at an early stage. In the words of Luskin, “We fail to repair damage” thus giving our weak nature the chance to slide back to those dark habits.
THE FORGIVENESS PRAYER
You have heard that prayer can move mountains. Prayers can also set us free from guilt and our dark past.
There is one prayer from the Jewish culture that is believed to help people forgive themselves. This prayer, though short feels so refreshing and wonderful when said. It is said just before bed every night and those who say it believe that after some days, they are able to forgive themselves. Below is the prayer.
I hereby choose to forgive anyone who has ever angered me, annoyed me or mocked me in anyway, whether physically or emotionally, financially or in any other way. Whether it was by accident, intentionally, by speech or by action, in this life or in any other. And let no one be punished in any way for what they did to me.
Does it not sound refreshing, cleansing or even purifying? Once you say such a wonderful prayer before bed, the next morning you can only wake up feeling peaceful. In any case, you should never be so serious with life. Never allow your personality or social status to be your downfall.
“When we forgive, we help ourselves as much as we help those whom we forgive.” Says Zelig Pliskin, a rabbi. He says that forgiveness makes us get uplifted in spirit and also makes our inner being feel better. Without forgiveness, our anger grows, our guilt soars and the mind becomes like a war zone, knowing no love or peace.
But it is not just right to forgive others while we hold deep immeasurable resentment to our inner selves. When we sin and discover it, we should stay humble and make peace with ourselves. After all, everyone is a sinner. Blatantly refusing to forgive ourselves can dig pits of shame, guilt and hate to ourselves which is not only morally incorrect, but it is also unhealthy.
In addition, self-deprecation and criticizing can only eat you up, blocking you in the same place you wish you could leave. Self-critiquing adds stress and depression to your body. It inhibits proper spiritual and personal development. Your relations with other people also become sour. What however, you fail to understand is that only monsters that are incapable of forgiving. We, human beings, created with the image of God, deserve to be forgiven.
THE FEDEX GUIDE TO SELF FORGIVENESS
And since we have already said that the road to having eternal peace with ourselves is prayer, let’s look again at another prayer, that if said every evening can have powerful impact to your life. And here is it is.
I hereby decide to let go all my anger, mockery toward myself, for something I did today or in the past, for committing sin to my body and soul, whether by abusing my body, my sources of income, for damaging my integrity and honor or for anything else. I forgive myself irrespective of whether my actions were deliberate or accidental, whether I did wrong by word of mouth or by action, in this life or any other. And thus, I should not be punished for what I did to myself or anyone else.
Every time you say this prayer, say it with humility just like you would with any other honest prayer. For by showing remorse to those you sinned against, or to yourself, you are actually taking a step in the healing process. It is a healing because you will heal all the wounds in your mind, wounds of guilt, shame and anger. And in the end you will be a forgiven person.
There is also a second part to the above prayer.
By your will God, the God of my ancestors, let me sin no more. Help me desist from doing any mistakes in the future. Help me not to anger you in the future or do anything unacceptable in your eyes. God, may your peace rest upon me so that my wrongs may be erased and that I should not be punished through diseases or suffering of any kind. Let the words that flow from my mouth and the feelings in my heart be pleasing to you, my God, my rock and redeemer.
You can say this prayer every evening before you go to bed. In fact, you can start today evening. Assume that FEDEX is an envelope and send the prayer straight to God, and you will receive forgiveness.
