Forgiveness is as indispensable to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body. So the next prayer is, Forgive us our debts. Sin is likened to a ‘debt’ because it deserves to be punished. But when God forgives sin, he remits the penalty and drops the charge against us. The addition of the words as we also have forgiven our debtors is further emphasized in verses 14 and 15 which follow the prayer and state that our Father will forgive us if we forgive others but will not forgive us if