And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12 (CSB)
Yesterday the prayer asked for bread. Today it asks for forgiveness. Both are daily needs.
“Debts” here means sins. Jesus uses a money picture on purpose. When we sin, we owe God something we can’t pay back. Like a bill we can’t cover. And a debt is stubborn. Ignore it, and it doesn’t go away. It just sits there. A debt ends only two ways. Someone pays it, or someone forgives it.
Every day we get to come to God and say, “Father, forgive me.” We name the real things. The actual lie. The actual harsh words. He already knows, and He’s ready to forgive.
Then the prayer mentions “our debtors.” The people who’ve wronged us. Forgiven people learn to forgive. Not to buy God’s forgiveness; we can’t. God’s forgiveness is a gift. But a gift that big changes how we treat what others owe us.
One thing needs saying carefully. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean saying what they did was okay. And it never means staying somewhere unsafe. If someone is hurting you, getting safe and telling someone you trust is right, and you can forgive from a safe place. Forgiveness cancels a debt. It doesn’t cancel wisdom.
The Bible says there was a record of debt against us, everything we owed God, and He canceled it by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Jesus paid what we couldn’t. That’s why we’re free to forgive.