When Jesus prayed to His Father with others present, He always considered what might be useful to those listening. In one of His prayers, He even explained, "Because of the people who are standing by I said this" (John 11:42). On the cross, Jesus uttered His prayer of forgiveness so that we might learn how to pray for forgiveness for our sins and the sins of others against us. St. Augustine explains: "The Grace prayed so that the sinner may pray. The ready-to-forgive Judge prayed so that the guilty may ask for forgiveness." Anyone can be forgiven if he asks the heavenly Father for forgiveness on the grounds of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but only if he joins his own prayer with the forgiveness prayer of the Savior for him. The soul that does so can be sure that such a prayer will be heard and that God’s judgment is cast aside for him. When Jesus was on the cross, darkness fell upon Him and on the countryside. Soon an earthquake was to follow. Jesus knew what was about to befall mankind because of His crucifixion. He saw in the darkness and the earthquake signs of God’s judgment similar to what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and through His prayer He aborted the wrath of God. In that convulsion He became a lightning rod for us. God’s wrath struck Him, and we the guilty were saved-all because He prayed. Jesus’ first prayer was not for His mother or His disciples but for His enemies. Love prays, first of all, for the most sinful. There is forgiveness from God for even the worst sinner. The people who crucified Jesus were committing the greatest crime on earth: a murder like no other, past or future. Their hands were stained with the blood of the Son of God as they nailed Him to the cross. Yet Jesus prayed for their forgiveness. The soul burdened with sin but conscious of being loved by another is tempted to think, "this person loves me only because he does not know my sin." But nothing is hidden from Jesus. If He could pray for the forgiveness of His murderers, He can pray as well for our forgiveness. As a result, many of His murderers actually found forgiveness. When the centurion who guarded the cross saw what had happened, he glorified God and said, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!" (Luke 23:47). And the soldiers who were with him feared greatly and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:54). Soon after Pentecost a great many priests also came to faith (Acts 6:7). If these obtained forgiveness, then it is certain that any man, no matter how sinful, can obtain remission for his sins. Can you doubt that Jesus’ blood is sufficient for yours as well? When the king of the ancient city of Nineveh heard of the preaching of the prophet Jonah, he responded with sackcloth and ashes, along with all the inhabitants, and said, "Who can tell if god will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?" (Jonah 3:9). In response, the inhabitants of Nineveh turned from their wicked ways in the simple hope that they would be forgiven. With the certainty of the cross behind us, can we be less hopeful than the wicked inhabitants of Nineveh? Paul wrote that we are to "be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). As we have been forgiven, we must also forgive others. Jesus said, "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23,24). The lesson for us is that we should forgive one another right now. After all, we have so little to forgive. How great is the vile done to us? A bad word, a false accusation, a misunderstanding, a wrong deed. How insignificant when compared to what the Savior to had to forgive! In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the master exclaims, "I forgave you all that debt" (Matthew 18:32). Can we not forgive the small debts of our acquaintances? Let us not excuse ourselves by saying this is something only Jesus could do, because He is God. For 2,000 years we have had the witness of countless believers who followed His example in everything. Let us remember Stephen, who cried out while his enemies were stoning him to death, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7:60). Bishop Hannington of Uganda, while being led to his death by the heathen, whispered to himself s that he would think no evil thought, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). His son, who became a preacher of the gospel in the same country, and the joy of bringing to faith and baptizing his father’s murders. God’s grace is sufficient for all-including you.