Day 20: Our Debtors
As a part of this prayer that leads us away from passivity and individualism, and toward the action and empowering grace of our Lord, we are called to not just act from our vision, but from the vision of our King. Jesus prays this difficult prayer that may challenge us on many levels, but He reminds us that whether we are victims, whether we are victimizers, whether we owe debts or have debts owed to us, we are called to forgive. This activity is even harder to complete when we are doing this from our vision.
For example, we can forgive our debtors by word of mouth, but that doesn’t mean that we have stopped seeing them as debtors. In the vision of the Lord, those who were once far off have been brought near, those who were once in slavery are now set free. It is not a forgiveness that is extended without a relationship. In this same manner, when we pray these small words, we are reminded of what others have done to us, but most importantly, we are reminded of asking the Lord about how He sees them.
Proverbs 29:18 is a powerful wisdom statement that beckons us to think vision and our lives. Solomon writes, “Where there is no vision, the people perish; but happy is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” Without proper vision, it is a dangerous to live at all. It would be a completely absurd request to drive somewhere blindfolded, but yet, somehow we think it to be wise to look at others and ourselves blinded by our own vision. The goal of praying this prayer is not just to keep people in their place of in-debtedness to us, but rather to align ourselves with God’s vision of those around us, and freely see through the only perspective that brings freedom, truth, and wholeness: The Lord’s. As you pray this today, I encourage you to remind yourself of God’s vision and align yourself with that vision that brings true wisdom and freeing activity in your life and the lives around you. Amen.
Action: As we saw in Proverbs 29:18, it is not encouraged for people to live without vision, or even a tainted vision. I would encourage you today to realign your vision with the Lord’s. Ask the Lord to show you His vision for those places in your own heart, in the relationships you have, your workplace, etc. Continually pray throughout the day: Jesus, align me with Your vision of those around me and myself.
