How to Ask for Forgiveness

You may have heard the saying “Jesus Saves”, but what does it actually mean? In a nutshell, it means that even though you have sinned against Father God throughout your lifetime, Jesus can save you from going to Hell if you SINCERELY ask Him to forgive your sins. And once you ask for forgiveness, you must not “return to your vomit like a dog” as the Bible says, but you must stop sinning. If this is hard for you, you can ask Jesus to help you to overcome the particular sin(s) that you are struggling with. It makes God truly happy when people ask Him for help and the strength to overcome their sins because this is where a personal relationship with Him truly begins. Much like marriage, a deeper relationship is formed while battling through the struggles TOGETHER as a team.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven (meaning Jesus) given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

God loves us so much that He gives us the freewill to choose Him, or reject Him. God/ Jesus is a gentleman, and will not push Himself on you. He wants you to desire His presence in your life.

When we sin, we are choosing to reject, or live apart from God, because when we sin we are no longer walking with Him in His ways, but in the ways of the evil one known as Satan, who is the god of this earth (god with a little “g”). It’s his goal to tempt us to stop walking with God during our lives, so that when we die, he can claim our souls for his kingdom (Hell). Life is a major spiritual battle that many are not aware of. It is our job to learn what is considered sinful in the eyes of God so that we can avoid it.

One day, when you die, your life will be reviewed by Father God, and all of your sins will be presented before you, and unless you’ve removed all of the sins from your rap sheet before you died by repenting (AKA: asking Jesus to forgive your sins), you will be held accountable for each and every sinful choice you’ve made that contributed to the evil in this world. Once you repent of your sinful actions, they are wiped completely clean from your life record (these records are sometimes referred to as the Akashic records) and God will remember your sins no more! Isn’t that amazing?!?! Feel free to do a happy dance… I’ll wait.

God doesn’t enjoy sending people to Hell. He wants NO ONE to perish! Which is why He sent Himself to earth in human form, through His son Jesus, to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. However, despite being given this beautiful opportunity to avoid Hell, many people still remain indifferent, or even contemptuous towards God in their lives.

After our life is reviewed, a choice is made by God as to where we will spend the rest of eternity. If you chose to walk closely with God throughout your lifetime, you will be allowed into Heaven. However, if you rejected God throughout your life, and continued to sin willingly, God will honor your desire to live without Him, and you will be sent to a place where no trace of God (and His goodness) can be found. This place is called Hell, and what makes Hell so awful is that God does not exist there. It is full of evil, pain, and torment. Heaven is so much better than life on earth, and Hell is so much worse than life on earth. I once heard that all of the sins that people repent for, get tossed into Hell to make it that much worse.

So before people get angry at God for sending people to Hell, they should first understand that while we’re alive we make our own choice as to where we wish to spend eternity, God is merely giving us the desire of our hearts. We cannot choose where we wish to go after we die, because by then it will be too late.

And I don’t think that God is in the wrong here. Would you feel comfortable inviting someone into your home who continually disrespects you, and has proved to you time, and time again, that they want nothing to do with you?

When those of us who choose to have a relationship with Jesus stand in front of Father God having our lives reviewed and judged, Jesus will be standing there with us, acting like the best lawyer in town, canceling out every charge against us. He will also act like the best parole officer in town, and will say to Father God, because I know this person, and they acknowledged my name and my ways throughout their life, their sin debt is completely paid and they are now pure and clean enough to enter the perfection of Heaven.

You see… even if we’re a “good person” throughout our lives, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t sinners. It’s not a personal attack, every single human on this planet is a sinner no matter how nice we might be. Jesus is the only thing that can save any of us from eternal separation from God. The Bible advises us to “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things”, because this world will some day pass away and then eternity will come… and eternity is FOREVER.

NOW THAT YOU KNOW WHY, HERE’S HOW…

• Find a quiet place to pray. Praying is simply talking to God. Speak out loud if possible, or in a whisper. You can even pray in your head. God will hear no matter what because God is found both within you, and outside of you.
• When you ask for forgiveness, be sure you are asking with a sincere heart. God knows our hearts and our motives.
• Say a broad prayer at first. Use your own words, and say something like, “Dear Lord Jesus, I invite you into my heart and into my life. Please hear my prayer. Lord Jesus please forgive me all of my sins. Please forgive all of my sins from the past, the present, and the future, both known and unknown to me. From the smallest sin, to the biggest, please forgive all of my sins, mistakes, and shortcomings.
• Now get more specific. Use your own words, but say something like, “Lord Jesus, I know you know me better than I know myself, but I’d like to ask forgiveness for specific things that I’ve done that weigh heavily on my heart”… then tell him what they are specifically. For example, if you spit on someone on the elementary school playground when you were a kid, tell him what you did, and how you know it was wrong, and ask Him to forgive you for doing it. It may be helpful to make a list of past wrongs and regrets before you begin in order to help you remember as you are praying.
• In your own words, ask Jesus to forgive you for any time that you did or thought anything less than loving, kind, and respectful towards others, yourself, and God.
• Make repentance a part of your daily life. The same way we take a shower every day to cleanse the dirt and grime of the day off of our bodies, we must take a soul shower (AKA: repenting) each day too. This works to keep us more deeply connected with God. If you had a good day and don’t feel you need to ask forgiveness for anything, that’s fine, but don’t let it go for too long or you’ll quickly fall out of alignment with God. For example, if I yell at my kids, or if I swear, I will say a quick, please forgive me Father for yelling, or cussing, and then I’ll try to do better next time. Also, as time goes by, you’ll most likely remember something stupid that you did when you were a teenager, or young adult, this is God bringing to your memory something that you should repent for. Remember, every time you repent, God will remember your sin no more, and it will not be used against you on your judgement day. THANK YOU JESUS!!!
• Asking for forgiveness is the first part of the salvation process, after you say sorry to God for all the wrongs you’ve done, you must then stop doing the sinful things you’ve just repented for. Those who can see just how precious Jesus’ gift of forgiveness is, will feel indebted to Him for saving them from going to Hell, and therefore, their hearts will be humbled, and they will want to treat God right by doing their best to sin no more. For example, if you were in a relationship with someone, and you asked them to forgive you for cheating on them, but you kept on doing it, that person would know that you weren’t truly sorry. The same holds true for God. Again, He knows the motives of our hearts. This fallen world we live in tells us to follow our heart, but the Bible actually warns us not to follow our hearts because they can be selfish and deceptive. Always question whether or not God would approve of your actions, and if He wouldn’t, then do all you can to avoid doing that thing. If you are feeling tempted to sin, pray to God to help you overcome it.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:24

Having a relationship with Jesus is a way of life, and each decision you make should affirm whether or not you are a true follower of Christ. If you’re trying your best, but still mess up, that’s okay, just dust yourself off, ask for forgiveness, get back on the horse and try again. Don’t forget to forgive yourself when you mess up too, because Satan will try to convince you that Jesus couldn’t possibly forgive you, but that is not the case. If you are sincere in your heart when you ask for forgiveness, Jesus will forgive you. One day you WILL be welcomed into the highest level of Heaven and the joy you will feel is far beyond any joy that this earth could give to you. When you have a personal relationship with Jesus, you can be sure there is so much more, and much better things waiting for you in the future. The Bible says that “no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him” And that’s something that we can get excited for in the here and now.

In spirit & truth,

Nicole