How Can I Pray for Forgiveness?

Writer

Updated July 26, 2021

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” Romans 3:23-24

No one is perfect. All people make mistakes, sin, and hurt others. When those mistakes happen inevitably, people often feel guilty, and either carry it, or seek absolution.

When someone hurts another individual, they can go in person and ask for forgiveness. But how does one approach the God of the universe and admit to wrong doing?

Thanks to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all can approach the throne of the Lord through prayer and ask for forgiveness, not just for a single act, but for all sin committed, and that will be in the future. By doing so, anyone can have a relationship with the living God.

Praying for forgiveness does not have to be highly structured, but it should be sincere, paired with thankfulness, and based on the desire to have a right relationship with God.

How Do I Pray for Forgiveness?

Praying for forgiveness begins with an awareness of a moral transgression or sin. Sometimes it is a big violation of one’s conscience. Sometimes it is a resentful thought, or a selfish moment.

When a person hurts someone else, the right thing to do is go to the hurt party, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. When humans sin, sometimes they hurt others, and it is important to ask the offended individual for forgiveness, but sin is always an injury against God.

It can be hard to go to God and admit to wrong-doing, but it is important and necessary as part of the relationship between a believer and their Savior. When discussing prayer, Jesus gave a model in Matthew 6:7-13, which is a good place to start when contemplating how to pray for forgiveness:

"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

God wants prayer to be personal, specific to the individual, a conversation. Using the Lord’s Prayers as a roadmap, rather than a verbatim dictum, asking for forgiveness begins with honoring God, praising Him for His goodness and holiness.

Confess specific sins. Admit to the state of the heart, as well as evil words and bad actions. Ask the Lord for help in turning away from sin, and request the Holy Spirit for the strength the avoid those sins in the future.

Pray to be more like Jesus. Prayer should also include thanking God for forgiveness, for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and for all the blessings He bestowed.

The state of the heart is important in prayer. Coming before God in prayer with insincerity, arrogance, and asking for forgiveness because it is ‘required’, is not a prayer that pleases God.

In a parable, Jesus highlighted the importance of humility in prayer: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector... I tell you [the tax collector] went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10 and 13-14).

Forgiveness is freely given to those who really want it, and God gladly forgives those who have a repentant heart.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Olivia Snow

Is It Okay to Sin and Then Ask for Forgiveness?

A common phrase that even some Christians repeat states, ‘it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission’. People try to use it as a reason to do what they believe is for the best to get something done, even if it means going around an authority figure or bending a rule.

From time to time, this idea begins to trend among certain churches; essentially, they hold that because God’s forgiveness is absolute, someone can sin and do something they know is wrong, confident that God will forgive them.

In contemporary movements that embrace this thinking, the term ‘covered by grace’ may be thrown around. Going back to the days of the Apostles after Christ’s ascension back to Heaven, people argued sinning gave God more chances to forgive, magnifying His goodness and increasing His grace.

Paul directly contradicts this idea, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) Later he wrote to the Romans, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15)

It is not acceptable for those who have accepted the blood of Jesus Christ and been forgiven to continue behaving as if they do not know the Lord. Instead, believers are to conform to the image of Christ, rather than continue behaving like the world.

However, no one is perfect, and even those who strive to live righteously will fail. In those moments of weakness, the believer can pray for God to forgive them, and ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to resist temptation in the future.

Do I Have to Keep Praying and Asking God to Forgive Me?

The first time a sinner turns to God in prayer, it can be a powerful moment of change. When a sinner goes to God, asks for forgiveness, and embraces Jesus as their Savior and Lord, they become a child of God and no longer a wayward sinner.

After this moment of salvation, Jesus says “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

Once someone believes in Jesus, and asks for forgiveness, that person begins a process called sanctification and building a closer relationship with the Lord. Having a relationship with Jesus is just like having a relationship with another person; it requires effort.

When someone enters a new relationship, they do not ask for forgiveness of all future wrongs at once, and then never apologize in the future. Some denominations do argue that individuals can lose salvation after sin, while others disagree.

Regardless of which line of thought one aligns with, if someone is pursuing a sincere relationship with God, seeking sanctification, and growing closer to Jesus then that person will pray for forgiveness when they sin.

Biblical Examples of Forgiveness Prayers

Jonah’s Prayer

Jonah committed the sins of disobedience, pride, and prejudice. He tried to run away from his responsibilities and from God. In the belly of a sea animal, he cried out for forgiveness and repented in Jonah 2:7-9.

“When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” (Read the full prayer: Jonah 2:2-9).

David’s Prayers

As king, David fell into temptation and had an affair with a beautiful, but married, woman. She was the wife of one of David’s best soldiers, Uriah; when she became pregnant, David murdered Uriah. God’s prophet Nathan convicted him, and David wrote several Psalms to reflect his prayer for forgiveness.

Psalm 32:5 “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.”

Psalm 51:4, 51:10 “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment...Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Read the full prayers: Psalm 32; Psalm 51)

A man with his hands in the air in praise, An Ohio mayor surrenders his city to the Lord

The Tax Collector’s Prayer

This prayer was in one of Jesus’ parables. It was short, but powerful.

Despite its length, Jesus found it sufficient to highlight the appropriate posture of a sinner’s heart to ask for forgiveness.

Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Read the full context: Luke 18:9-14)

Can We Pray for Forgiveness for Others?

Believers find great joy, comfort, and hope in their relationship with Jesus Christ, knowing their sins are forgiven and they have an eternal life with the Lord. Because of this joy, they want to see others find that same security.

Christians can pray for the Spirit to be working in a non-believer’s life, for opportunities to share the Gospel, and even pray that God will forgive the sinner, but they need to understand that it does grant salvation to someone else. The individual must go to the Lord themselves.

One important prayer regarding forgiveness is asking God to help each believer to forgive others. Forgiveness can be difficult, and the Spirit is there and willing to help.

Jesus Christ came to earth and died on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. This act made eternal forgiveness open and available to everyone and anyone who asks for it.

It is a crucial part of any relationship, particularly the one between humanity and God. Because of Jesus’ gift of salvation, the prayer for forgiveness can be said at any time, anywhere, and even in any language.

As the Apostle Paul wrote, “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame’” (Romans 10:9-11).

Sources

Getty, Mary Ann. What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness. Hyde Park: New City Press, 2020.

MacArthur, John. The Truth about Forgiveness. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012.

Ryrie, Charles. So Great Salvation What It Means to Believe in Jesus Christ. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1997.

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.