How can I forgive my rapist?
I was rapped by my step-dad and I’m trying to forgive, but I still live in the same place as him and I find it hard to forgive. I want to because I know it's what God wants, but I don’t know how and I feel helpless.
Matthew 18:21 - 22
ESV - 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
Anonymous
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Danny Hickman
Jehovah God Almighty will forgive you your unforgiveness toward the person who raped you (rapist), if you ask Him.
That's our part in forgiveness for such a horrible offense committed against us. We confess the plethora of sins we are guilty of because of our unforgiving heart. Pride, self-centeredness, hypocrisy, idolatry; all these are present in us when we imagine ourselves on the throne of righteousness instead of God. That's why Jesus told them (us) that our forgiveness is directly tied to our WILLINGNESS to forgive. (Matthew 6)
I don't believe God withholds forgiveness to a woman who ADMITS that she hasn't forgiven a rapist! The fact that she says, 'I want to forgive him,' speaks louder than everything else. She says, 'I want to because I know that's what God wants.'
THAT is what matters most!
If you know that God wants you to forgive your enemy, then pray and ask God to forgive you both!! him for violating you, and you for not finding a way to forgive him for it. You said it a different way, but you said the same thing Jesus is saying. He's saying 'You're all in the same situation, in need of forgiveness. You either believe in forgiveness or you don't. YOU DECIDE!!' When you made it about what God wants, you made your decision.
You're there! That's where Jesus is trying to get us to go! You believed Him! That's what God wants.
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29).
(As opposed to believing in yourself). You're there!!