Mark 11:25
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Jesus invites all to bring personal troubles, perplexities, and questions of duty directly to Him in believing prayer, to Christ the Burden-bearer who understands every circumstance of life and receives what is asked in faith, rather than depending on another person or human counselor to inquire of God for them. When standing praying, anything held against anyone is to be forgiven, so that the Father in heaven may forgive trespasses, for forgiving others is tied to receiving forgiveness and if forgiveness is refused the Father will not forgive. Anyone who prays must forgive anyone against whom a grievance or anything is held, and this forgiveness of others while praying is required in order to be forgiven by the Father and to have prayer answered.
Those who ask God to forgive their sins must forgive others in the same manner and measure they hope to be forgiven, with prayer for forgiveness coming from a forgiving spirit, for to withhold forgiveness and affection from others while seeking God's pardon is hard-hearted and not Christ-like. Forgiveness must not wait for the one who did wrong to confess, for although repentance and confession are that person's responsibility, compassion is to be shown whether or not fault is admitted, grievances are not to be cherished nor injuries dwelt upon, and everyone who has done evil is to be pardoned as pardon from God is hoped for. The requirement is plain and binding to release any grudge against anyone, to put away an unforgiving spirit, and not to cherish or feed resentful feelings.
An unforgiving spirit prevents God from answering prayer, for God condemns harboring resentment and allowing the enemy to control the feelings, and He will not answer the prayers of anyone who keeps resentment nor forgive trespasses unless forgiveness is given. Cherishing resentment destroys appetite for reading Scripture and makes Scripture harder to receive, because God's Word condemns harboring it.
Faith in God's pardon through Christ and daily dependence on His grace produce gratitude, sympathy for fellow sinners, humility, and a forgiving spirit free from pride and revenge, while a person who seeks forgiveness while refusing to forgive lacks the humility and love that true faith brings. Parents must forgive their children just as freely as they hope to be forgiven by their Father in heaven, showing no clouded brow when a child yields to temptation and afterward sees and repents of the error, but meeting repentance with free forgiveness joined to kind instruction that binds the child to the parent's heart.