“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (remitted, let go of the debts and have given up resentment against) our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12 Amplified Bible)
This verse contains both a petition and a declaration. We often utter the petition, “Forgive us our debts” ignoring the declaration, “as we have forgiven our debtors”. When Jesus uses the conjunction “as,” He is making the relationship between the petition and the declaration. He says that we set the standard and then God follows the standard (vs 14-15). In Mark 11:22, we are to ask for “faith in God” to remove mountain. However, this “mountain” is unforgiveness (Mark 11:25) and it blocks the blessing of God to our prayers. St. Augustine called this “a terrible petition.” He pointed out that if you pray these words while harboring an unforgiving spirit, you are actually asking God not to forgive you. Ponder that for a moment. If you pray “Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors” while refusing to forgive those who have wronged you, this prayer which is meant to be a blessing becomes a self-inflicted curse. Charles Spurgeon says, you are signing you own ‘death-warrant’. You are really saying, “O God, since I have not forgiven my brother, please do not forgive me.” When you cancel another’s debt, you are poorer financially but the debtor becomes richer. However, you are enriched because you are obeying God. Matthew, a tax collector, who wrote this Gospel must have forgiven many debtors for he knew how much God has forgiven him.