Pray for Those Who Persecute You
When Jesus told us to pray for those who persecute us, He asked us to do something that goes against every instinct we have. When we're hurt, mocked, or opposed, our natural response is to defend ourselves and quietly wish ill on the person who wronged us. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His followers to a stranger, stronger path: blessing instead of cursing, and praying for the very people who make our lives hard.
This doesn't mean pretending the harm never happened or excusing it. It means refusing to let bitterness take root in you and trusting God to deal with both their heart and yours. The prayers below are for that hard, holy work: blessing your opponents, releasing resentment, and asking God to do what only He can do in them and in you.
A Prayer to Bless, Not Curse
Father, You told me to bless those who persecute me, and I confess I would rather not. Still, I choose to obey. I ask You to bless the person who has opposed me, to meet them with kindness, and to draw them closer to You. Where I want to curse, teach me to bless. Change my reflexes until mercy comes more easily than resentment. Amen.
A Prayer to Release Bitterness
Lord, I'm carrying anger that is wearing me down. I hand it to You now, the sharp words, the unfairness, the wound that keeps reopening. I don't want bitterness to live in me a day longer. Pull it out by the roots and plant peace there instead. Amen.
A Prayer for God to Work in Them
God, only You can reach a closed heart. I pray for the one who has hurt me; soften them, convict them, and lead them to repentance and to You. Do in their life what I could never do, and let Your goodness be what turns them around. Amen.
A Prayer for My Own Heart
Lord, guard my heart while I wait. Amen.
Praying for the One Who Wounds Me
Lord Jesus, You told me to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me, and today I am trying to obey a command that costs me something. There is someone who has hurt me, and my instinct is to repay them, not to pray for them. Soften the resentment that has hardened in me before it turns to bitterness. I bring this person before You by name in my heart, and I ask You to bless them. Do for them what only You can do, and change them where they need changing, as You are changing me. Guard me from the wish to see them suffer, for that wish poisons my own soul. You prayed for those who crucified You, asking the Father to forgive them; give me even a fraction of that mercy. Help me to release my desire for revenge into Your just hands. Heal the wound they left so that it no longer governs my thoughts. Let me be free, not because they deserve it, but because You ask it of me. Replace my anger with a strange and holy compassion. Teach me that forgiving is not pretending the harm did not happen, but trusting You with it. Carry what I cannot carry. And make me more like You in the carrying. Amen.
A Short Prayer of Release
Father, forgive them, for in their own way they do not fully know what they do. I hand my hurt to You and refuse to let it rule me. Bless the one who wronged me, and free my heart from holding it against them. Amen.
Scripture to pray
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.— Matthew 5:44
Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.— Luke 6:28
Frequently asked questions
Why does Jesus tell us to pray for those who persecute us?
Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us so that we reflect God's own character, who shows kindness even to the ungrateful. Praying for those who hurt us frees us from bitterness and entrusts justice to God rather than carrying it ourselves. It transforms the person praying as much as it intercedes for the one being prayed for.
How can I pray for someone who has hurt me?
Start small and honest: tell God exactly how you've been wronged, then ask Him to bless that person and to heal your own heart. You don't have to feel warm toward them to obey; you can choose to pray for their good while you're still working through the pain. Over time, sincere prayer often softens the anger you began with.
What does "despitefully use you" mean in the Bible?
"Despitefully use you" is the King James Bible's wording in Luke 6:28 — "pray for them which despitefully use you" — and it means to treat someone with spite, contempt, or deliberate cruelty. Modern translations render the same Greek phrase as "mistreat you" (NIV) or "abuse you" (ESV). It's the same command as Matthew 5:44's "pray for those who persecute you," just in older English: pray for the people who are actively working to harm you, not only those who oppose you in passing.