And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25 ESV
A man in a third world country was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs, held in a prison cell because of his faith in the Lord. His wife, still free to come and go, liked to cook for him, bringing his meals up to the prison.
This man never had a chance to enjoy her home cooking, however. Every time food was brought to him, the prison guard took it instead, eating it in front of him. How awful it must have been to watch this take place time and time again!
Can You Imagine?
Was there any hope of reaching the prison guard with the gospel message? It might not have seemed so, but that’s just exactly what happened some time later. You see, the prisoner was finally released, freed to go back to his family. After arriving home, God began to deal with him about forgiving the prison guard who had wronged him.
The Lord impressed on the man a unique way to show his forgiveness. He sent a note to the prison guard, inviting him to come to dinner at his home. The note said, “I remember how much you enjoyed my wife’s cooking.” Remarkably, the guard came! Under conviction of the Holy Spirit, he repented for the wrong he had done, and accepted the gift of salvation that same night!
There truly is power in forgiveness!
The man offering forgiveness received the power to get on with the rest of his life. The man who received forgiveness received power to see with spiritual eyes. That’s truly supernatural!
Challenging Thought: Perhaps someone has hurt you badly. What steps can you take to begin to forgive that individual?
Read more devotions like this one in a new book Janice co-authored with Louise Looney titled An Overcoming Walk of Peaks and Valleys, now available on Amazon!
