💥 Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

 

Luke 23

33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.  And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

35 And the people stood beholding.  And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,

37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.

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Comments by Joan Boney:

Have you ever prayed this over someone who harmed you?  

My cousin, Jeanne, fought against me due to the doctrine she had learned in Church of Christ where Paul said, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."  (I Corinthians 14:34-35)

When God convinced me I was called to be a minister, I asked God:  "How can I be?  What about that which Paul said concerning women not being permitted to speak in the church?"

God said to me:  "Look at what these women were doing."

So I looked ... and it seemed to me in verse 35 Paul explained that which these women were doing.  

"35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home:"

(It seemed to me that these women were interrupting the church gathering by asking questions.)  

New Testament churches at the time of Paul met in homes.  It would have been very easy for women to ask questions in that setting.

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Then God called my attention to these scriptures:

💥 Acts 21:8-9  And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. 9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

(To prophesy, these 4 daughters of Philip would have to speak in the church to prophesy.)

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💥  Luke 3:36-38  And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of HIM to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

(Here is a godly woman who lived in the temple and spoke to others of the baby Jesus and to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.)

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💥  Judges 4:4-9  And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? 7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of J abin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee:

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And God reminded me of when I was born again, when HE spoke to me the night of August 5, 1975, and God said to me by HIS Spirit:  "Joan ... you know all these mistakes you've been making all these years.  Those weren't mistakes.  Those were sins."  I was shocked!  I thought they were mistakes.

And God reminded me of the two times I was taken into heaven shortly after I was born again.  I was asleep in the night when this happened.  I was "transported" into heaven.  I knew I was with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit.  (I saw no images.  It was in the spirit, a spiritual experience.)  At that time I was merged into the body of Jesus, made one with the Word of God, God and the Holy Spirit witnessing.

This exact same thing happened to me a second night while I was sleeping.

After that I was on fire for things of God.  All I cared about was the Bible and God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the church.  (a heavenly calling)

For the next 5 years, I would read the Bible and God taught me scripture by the Holy Spirit.  God made my calling clear with my pastor saying I was a prophetess and confirmed by gifts of the Holy Spirit at my home church which I attended constantly, every meeting they had, as-well-as at other churches which I often visited when they had special meetings.

One day, my Church of Christ cousin said to me:  "Well ... I'm convinced you are a Christian.  I just don't see how you can be."  (She didn't understand being born again by God by HIS will.)

And then my cousin and her husband began to fight against what I was doing as I spoke on radio stations across the United States.

I prayed that God would show them before they died I that really was doing HIS will as I worked in the ministry.  (They were 19 & 20 years older than I.)

And I prayed over them:  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

(I believe we can, and should, pray this over those who fight against us.  But I don't feel we have the right to pray this over Hitler or this Hamas group today who butcher other people, but I could be wrong.  I know God will judge them.  I believe God raised some evil doers up to do an evil, such as Pharaoh, in Moses day which resulted in delivering HIS people from Egypt, and Adolph Hitler as a penalty against the Jews who did not accept Jesus.  God will also judge them as God hardened their hearts to do their evil.)

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(Comments by Pam Padgett)

Many times I have prayed "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." regarding people who have shown hatred or ill-will toward me without cause.

One instance was when my dad was very ill in Oklahoma, several hundred miles from where I live.  Doctors did not expect him to live very long.  Both of my sisters called and told me that I needed to go be with my dad, and talk with him, before he died.  But when I prayed about what to do, I heard "You have already said everything needed to your dad."   I believed I was being shown there was no need to go to be with my dad, so I didn't go.  My sisters were upset with me when I told them I wasn't going to Oklahoma and said some hurtful things to me.  This was one time I prayed "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

 

Interestingly, when I called my mom a week or 2 later and asked how my dad was doing,  she said he was feeling much better and was out mowing the lawn!

 

When my dad died a couple years later, he had not been ill.  He simply died in his sleep.  And I was shown in a dream that my dad was born again before he died, that he was my "brother", and in the dream my dad said to me "You were always there for me."  I knew this dream showed truth from God, and I was comforted by this dream. 

 

Although neither of my sisters communicated with me for some years I was given a dream that my older sister, Pat, had understanding of the following scripture, and since understanding is from God, I believe I was being shown she would be born again at some point:

I Peter 5:8-9  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

About a year after this dream, I was diagnosed with cancer and was going through chemotherapy.  One evening Pat called unexpectedly and as we began to talk she asked why I sounded so tired.  I told her of the cancer and how God was helping me and leading me in treatment.  (To read an account of this, please click here:  Led by God in cancer treatment)   With this call, communications were opened with Pat, and I was able to share many things from God with her over the next few months when she also was diagnosed with cancer and went through cancer treatment.

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