The Importance of Forgiveness
In the Bible, priests would stand and pray the blessing that God gave Aaron for the people:
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV)
For God promised,
"So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them” (v. 27)
This is a relationship blessing. It is being in God’s presence, where His face shines upon us and we find shalom—the peace of God. Without His presence, there is no peace.
Jesus refers to this imagery, saying,
“Whenever you stand praying”—then He continues, “if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25-26)
If we hold onto unforgiveness, our prayers go nowhere.
Jesus was beaten, spit upon, rejected, crowned with thorns, and nailed to a cross—yet He said, “Father, forgive them.” He would rather have a relationship with the Father than hold onto offenses. He knows the Aaronic blessing is the key. If we have His presence, we have everything.
Another image of the priestly blessing is in 1 Timothy 2:8, when Paul says,
"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."
Where there is anger and disputing, there is no anointing. Paul also says in Ephesians 4:26,
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
This is why we should pray, “Lord, am I holding anything against anyone? I don’t want to keep a grudge, because it takes away from my relationship with You. I want Your face to shine upon me. I want Your presence all through me. And I want my heart transparent before You.”
He will forgive anything if we ask—and when we have a clear conscience, we can pray with power. As 1 John 3:21-22 promises:
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him.
God bless you.
About The Author
GORDON ROBERTSON is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Broadcasting Network, as well as a member of CBN’s Board of Directors. He is also Chancellor of Regent University and the Chairman of the Board of Operation Blessing, CBN’s humanitarian organization.
The son of Pat and Dede Robertson, Gordon graduated from Yale University in 1980 and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University in 1984. He then practiced law in Norfolk, Virginia, for 10 years.
In 1994, Gordon had a profound encounter with the Lord and moved to the Philippines, where he established CBN Asia. The following year, he founded the Asian Center for Missions (ACM), dedicated to training and sending Asian missionaries throughout the world. ACM is now one of the largest missionary agencies in the Philippines with more than 2,000 graduates trained in cross-cultural missions.
In 1996, Gordon created CBN Asia’s flagship television show, The 700 Club Asia, which is now one of the longest-running Christian television shows in the Philippines and is distributed by satellite around the world. Also in 1996, CBN Asia started a humanitarian organization, Operation Blessing Philippines, which has been recognized as “NGO of the Year” by the Philippine government.
Over the next three years, Gordon launched CBN centers in Indonesia, India, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Thailand. He moved back to the United States in 1999 to serve at CBN’s headquarters in Virginia Beach.
As Executive Producer of The 700 Club, Gordon oversees all aspects of programming for the ministry. He hosts CBN’s original flagship program, The 700 Club; as well as 700 Club Interactive, a daily show airing on Freeform and online; and Miracle Living Today.
Gordon has produced a number of documentaries and features as Executive Producer of CBN Films, including:
- Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament
- Oracles of God: The Story of the Old Testament
- Written in Stone four-part series: House of David, Kings and Prophets, Secrets of the Temple, and Jesus of Nazareth
- The Asbury Awakening
- I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland
- Treasures of the Second Temple
- Christmas: The Story Behind the Traditions
- To Life: How Israeli Volunteers Are Changing the World
- In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem
- The Hope: The Rebirth of Israel
- Whose Land Is It? Jewish and Arab Claims to Israel
- Made in Israel
- Temple of Heaven, filmed in China
Gordon is also Executive Producer of CBN Animation’s Superbook, the reimagined animation series. Its guiding mission is to bring the stories of the Bible to the children of the world in their own languages. With over 65 episodes completed, Superbook has been broadcast to millions of viewers in dozens of languages throughout the world. Other Superbook-themed videos are also being produced and released.
Gordon and his wife, Katharyn, reside in Virginia and have three grown children.
