Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“
I praise you, my God and Father, for your compassion, your grace, and your abundant mercy. You are slow to anger and rich in love. Lord, I pray for everyone who dislikes or hates me, and those with bad intentions in their hearts towards me. I pray that you shower your blessings and compassion on them. Fill my heart with love for them, oh God. Please give me the desire to pray for them even when I don’t want to. Lord, please help me to forgive __insert name/names__. Right now, I release hurt, bitterness, anger, resentment, and hatred. Help me to always remember that you loved me even at my worst, so I should extend the same grace and love to those around me.
Heavenly Father, I pray that I will refrain from taking vengeance into my own hands or repaying evil for evil. Instead, I pray that I will overcome evil with good. I pray that if the opportunity arises for me to bless, help, or extend kindness to my enemies, I will do so from a pure and clean heart. I pray that I will never rejoice if my enemy falls, or gloat when they stumble. Lord, I know that many people are products of their past experiences, so if my enemies suffer from hurt, disappointments, or anything else from their past that is fueling their hatred or dislike for me, I pray that you heal their wounds and make them whole. My prayer is that they will experience your transforming power in their lives. I pray all these things in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen!
Psalm 86:15, Psalm 145:8, 1 John 4:7-8, Romans 5:7-8, Proverbs 24:17, 1 Peter 3:9, Luke 6:35, Proverbs 25:21-22
I’ve been dealing with a lot of anger as I pray for my enemies. The Lord told me to bless instead of curse and led me to your post. It’s what I needed. Thank you.
This is beautifully written & I understand that the Crucifixion is/was in the Past but WHY do you write “Help me to always remember that you loved me even at my worst“ why is love in the past tense?? He loved us and loves
us still !! Just curious.
Dorothy of WNC
Also: SUPER GREAT y’all have this incredible song on here within the body of this written reflection !!
Hi Dorothy, thanks for taking the time to comment and I am glad that this prayer has been a blessing. I agree that Jesus’ love never ends, and it is not just in the past tense. But when I wrote this prayer, I thought of Romans 5:7-8, and the moment that Christ demonstrated this love for us…the cross. In that moment, He demonstrated His love for us at our worst.
Thank you for the prayer. You know I was in my garage thinking of ways to harm my ex the devil had control of my thoughts big time. But greater is He than he that is in this world. I got on my knees because that is were I find my battles being won in Jesus Name. My finances are taking a big hit with child support, my rent increased A LOT!! please pray for me. Thanks again for your prayers
Hi Manuel, I stand with you in prayer today. I pray that you experience the power of God in your mind, emotions, finances, and every area of your life. Our God is able! I believe with you for change, restoration, and provision in Jesus Name!
my sister has constantly disrespected me and my interests. i needed a reminder to pray for her i stead of get angry
Great prayer-
I’ve had countless sleepless nights where my mind goes to vengeance and hate instead of prayer –
Tonight I’m glad I chose to pray instead.
“I pray that I will never rejoice if my enemy falls, or gloat when they stumble.”
I particularly like this line. For me it emphasizes how difficult it is to be genuine in praying for someone who has done us wrong. I had say it 3 times out loud for it to start feeling right, and will probably need to say it 300 more times …
Thanks again
I am thankful that i’ve came across this page, i was ready to confront my aunt for endless bad talk behind my back to family members. I now understand that praying for her will not only heal my heart but her envious heart as well.
Lord i pray to heal her heart from any past experience. Amen
I just did a google search for “prayers for my enemies!” And I am glad I came across this prayer. I am going to write it out & put it in my prayer book. Back in summer I was wrongfully fired & evicted from my hotel job. I created a YouTube channel to help document my mistreatment from my former employer. Four months later my channel is finally building momentum. I made two mistakes back to back. 1) I went to my EX Moms house for Thanksgiving. A Cousin that I never met b4 bcuz he was incarcerated for over 25 yrs just got out of jail & showed up to the house. He made a VERY rude & disrespectful comment to me about the nature of my friendship with my EX. I questioned my EX about it and he was like “what did you want me to say?” And my 2nd mistake) I let him come to my current hotel. I am currently homeless living in a hotel. I am also a domestic violence survivor. Only 3 ppl knew about my current location. Including my EX. I talked about my hurt feelings briefly on my YouTube channel. Without adding any specifics. Since then the Little Sister has been Harassing me. Threatened me in my comments section. And proceeded to put my personal business on the internet. I already had to put a Peace Order on someone right b4 I was fired from my job. Now I am going to have to file Harassment charges on my EX & his Sister. The holiday season is hard enough for me since I have no family around. I feel like I am truly in need of some 🙏 Prayer Warriors 🙏 at this point to pray for me and my situation. PLEASE pray for me that my EX & his family leave me alone. I am trying to build my YouTube Channel so I can help other homeless people. And other domestic violence survivors as well be able to start their lives over. I dont need this distraction. I am simply trying to do the work that I feel God has called me to do now. Please pray for me!!!
I am so grateful I came across this prayer this morning when I decided to fast and pray for my enemies but I didn’t know how to do it.
I have read all the Bible verses and all are instructions to love our enemies, they are not requests. The most important bit of it is that there is a reward. The reward can not be easily given, it is after hard work. Loving someone who has wronged you is not that easy but I am going to do it with compassion.
Amen.