A Prayer for Your Enemies
Praying for people who have hurt you is one of the hardest things Jesus asked us to do. It can feel impossible — or dishonest — to pray for someone you're angry at, someone who wronged you, someone you'd rather avoid. This prayer doesn't pretend that away. It's honest about the difficulty and asks God to do what we cannot do on our own.
Prayer
Lord, you told me to pray for my enemies and I'm going to try.
I'll be honest: I don't feel it yet. There is still anger, still hurt, still the part of me that wants things to go badly for them. I'm not praying for them because it feels natural. I'm praying for them because you asked me to, and because I trust that you know something I don't.
So: bless them. Whatever that means for their life — bless them. Meet them in whatever they need. Do the things for them that you would do for anyone who came to you.
And do something in me too. Loosen the grip of the resentment I'm carrying. It is heavy. It is costing me more than it is costing them. Give me the freedom that forgiveness brings — not because they deserve it, but because I need it.
Help me to see them the way you see them: as someone broken, as someone with their own story, as someone you love even if I can't right now.
I'm trying, Lord. Help me do what I cannot do alone.
Amen.
Directly from Matthew 5:44. This prayer is deliberately honest — it doesn't perform forgiveness but asks for it as a process. It holds both the command and the human struggle to obey it.
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Scripture behind this prayer
Matthew 5:44
"But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,"
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Romans 12:20
"Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”"
If your enemy is hungry, feed him — in doing so you heap burning coals on his head.
Luke 6:28
"bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you."
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Ephesians 4:32
"And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you."
Forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Proverbs 25:21
"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:"
If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat.
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