How do we grieve the Holy Spirit? This is not a question to take lightly, because our prayer life, which grows out of our personal love relationship with the Lord, depends upon His willingness to hear and answer our prayers. When we grieve the Holy Spirit through unconfessed sin, our communication with the Lord is broken.

So if we want to live in a continuing close, personal relationship with the Lord, one in which He hears and answers our prayers, we must learn to confess—and repent of—the sins in our lives. Not just the easy sins to confess, but the tough ones, like unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness is sometimes one of the most difficult sins to confess, because we so often think we must feel it emotionally when we forgive someone. But forgiveness is an act of our will, and we do not have to feel like it, to do it. Forgiveness must be honest, sincere and complete, or it leaves a root of bitterness in our lives. One sign that we have not forgiven is continued anger, which can evolve into depression or a spirit of retaliation. Forgiving means leaving everything in God’s hands, recalling that ultimately, vengeance is His.