Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say this: Forgive us our sins.”
There are a number of Greek words used by NT writers which we translate in English as sin. Each convey an aspect of the nature of sin.
In Matthew’s version of the Lord’s prayer he uses opheilēma ie something owed, that is, (figuratively) a due.; morally a fault: - debt. In Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer he uses hamartia ie sin or offence literally to miss the mark.
Jesus is inviting us to look at our lives and recognise what we say and do wrong and ask for forgiveness. It is admitting that we have done wrong and we need to say sorry because we have offended God or another person.
It is often our pride and our stubbornness that blocks us from admitting our faults and saying sorry. We fail to realize that our words and actions have hurt others. They have broken our relationships and the way to mend them is to say sorry.
Sometimes we say and do things that have hurt others but we have not been aware of that. It has been totally unintentional on our part. Yet it is still important to say sorry.
In particular, we need to be aware of our human nature that does not want to easily acknowledge the sin. In fact it seeks to exacerbate the situation and cause more disruption of our relationships.
To ask for forgiveness is never an easy matter as we need to humble ourselves, admit our failings and seek forgiveness of what we have done wrong.
To ask for forgiveness from God and others continues to renew relationships and renews our heart.
So praying for forgiveness from God and others keeps our heart clean and our life on track with God and with people.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer out loud. Write a list of the thoughts and actions that continue to put you on the wrong side of God and people. Go through each one. Ask for forgives from God. Plan to ask for forgiveness from others. Plan to say sorry quickly.