A Prayer for When You've Been Hurt by Others
By Christine F. Perry
Bible Reading
"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." - Number 6:24-26 NKJV
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I sat in church on a Wednesday night, stewing with anger. I was hurt and felt like someone was not acting in a way they should have. Feeling justified in my feelings because my sins weren't as bad as theirs, I sat self-righteously listening to my pastor ... until the Lord reminded me that I was wrong. I was no better than this other person. My internal sins of condemning this person disgusted him because God is holy. I was sinning and continuing to sin against God by judging this person based on my “better behavior.” I am never to judge someone else based on my behavior. I am to judge my own behavior against God — who is always right, holy, and just. The conviction brought me to tears. The Holy Spirit continued to work on me when this thought popped into my mind: "If you really love them, you would pray for their best, regardless of their behavior and what they can do for you."
I was crushed. I admitted to loving them, but my actions proved that I didn't. I wanted them to behave and act a certain way because it would benefit me. The verses from Numbers 6 came to mind. I realized I needed to pray for God to bless that person, even if they had hurt me. It wasn't easy because I had no idea if I would ever talk to this person again on the level we had once talked. But I continued to pray. This happened two years ago, and just recently, I felt hurt by another individual. Before getting too worked up, I remembered Numbers 6:24-26 again. I prayed for God to bless them.
Being in any relationship means you love a person. It also means you will be hurt by that person. You give permission for love while simultaneously signing up to be hurt. However, when we look at how often we hurt God by not trusting him, jumping ahead of his timeline, saying things we shouldn't, and doing things we shouldn't, it's a lot easier to forgive someone who occasionally hurts us. We hurt God every day by our sins, and He never punishes us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10-12). Whenever we are hurt, it's okay to be upset. You are human. God is not unsympathetic. However, we should never hold another person to our standard. The best way to help you get over your hurt is to pray that the Lord will bless the person who has hurt you.
Please note: this blog is for when you're hurt, not if you're in an abusive relationship.
Let's Pray:
Dear Lord,
I am sorry for the numerous times I have hurt you. Lord, I am a sinner in desperate need of your constant help. I pray that You will help me to be gracious and kind, even when I am hurt by others. Help me to believe the best about others. Please help me not to keep a record of wrong. Help me to bless others and to pray for them. I relinquish my hurt to you. I pray that you would give me wisdom to know how to navigate the next steps in my relationship with the one who has hurt me. Lord, you know their heart, and you know my heart. Please help us both to be more like you. If the other person does not know you, please help them to come to know you soon so we can experience an even deeper level of friendship. Thank you for not punishing me as my sins deserve. Thank you for loving me, even when I am acting in an unloving and unbecoming manner. Please create a clean heart in me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. I need you, Lord. I surrender this hurt to you. Please bless the person who hurt me. Please do exceedingly abundantly more than they can ask, think, or imagine.
I pray all this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
Christine is just a lady who was given the gift of being raised in an incredible family. For reasons unknown to her, God has blessed her with an amazing life full of beautiful friendships, remarkable experiences, and a love from Him that is completely underserved. She desires to encourage others and share hope as we journey through the highs and lows of life. Christine is the author of How I Met Peace and For the Weary Life Traveler, a 31-day devotional. Check out more of Christine's work at her website: Learning to be fearless and her Patreon.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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