Purest Prayer Ever Prayed

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34

As He hung on the cross, these words, whispered from the heart of Jesus, is most certainly the purest prayer ever lifted to Heaven. With everything these sinners had done to Him and had made Him endure, He didn’t want one soul to die. He knew He was to bear the sins of mankind up to that exact moment so He included the present sins of man against Him.


My commentary states it more beautifully than I ever could: ‘In the soul of Jesus there was no resentment; no anger, no lurking desire for punishment upon the men who were mistreating Him.’ p. 1455. How could this be man?

I must admit that many times I take unrighteous comfort in the fact that certain people will have to ‘stand toe to toe with God on certain behaviors!’ Those are actually the words I state – much different that those precious words uttered by Christ. Oh, to be more like Him instead of my judgmental attitude! ‘If the cross is about anything at all, it is about forgiveness - forgiveness of the most incorrigible and least deserving.' Beth Moore, Jesus - The One & Only.

Jesus could easily have said ‘Father, may them pay! Punish them for what they have done to me! Stand toe to toe with them on this behavior!’ But Jesus had a heart of Savior and He always will act from that standpoint.

Father, I am so convicted this morning of my heart being less than pure and less like Jesus. ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God!’ (Psalm 51:10)

May we all whisper the prayer of Jesus to our Father when dealing with others.