A prayer you can pray right now
A Prayer for My Enemy
Praying for an enemy is one of the hardest things Jesus ever asked of us, and one of the most freeing. Maybe someone has set themselves against you, at work, in your family, in your community, and the thought of them tightens your chest. Everything in you wants to see them fail, not flourish. Yet Jesus was clear: love your enemies, and pray for those who mistreat you. This prayer is not about pretending the hurt is not real or excusing genuine wrong. It is about refusing to let hatred rule you, and handing your enemy over to God instead of carrying them as a weight in your soul.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”Matthew 5:44
“Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”Romans 12:20
“Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”Romans 12:21
“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”Luke 6:28
A prayer you can pray
Father, You know the person who has become my enemy, and You know the anger I carry because of them. I do not feel loving toward them, so I need Your help even to pray this. You told me to love my enemies and to pray for those who mistreat me, so here I am, trying. I ask You to bless them, though everything in me resists it. Change their heart, and change mine. Free me from the bitterness that is poisoning me more than it hurts them. I give up my right to revenge and place them in Your hands, trusting that You are a just God who sees everything I cannot make right. Help me not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. In the name of Jesus, amen.
How to pray this
Pray for your enemy even when the feelings are not there yet; obedience often comes before emotion. Jesus commanded us plainly to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who mistreat us, so start there even through gritted teeth. Paul writes that if your enemy is hungry, you should feed him, and that we must not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good, so pray for God to help you respond with unexpected kindness rather than retaliation. Crucially, Paul also says to leave vengeance to God, who has said, vengeance is mine, which frees you; you do not have to settle the score, because God will handle justice better than you could. Praying for an enemy does not mean tolerating abuse; seek safety and wise help where real harm is present, and let God carry the rest.
The One who hears this prayer
Jesus did not only teach this; He lived it to the end. Hanging on the cross, He prayed for the very people who put Him there, asking the Father to forgive them. He was betrayed, denied, mocked, and killed, and He answered with mercy rather than curses. When you pray for your enemy, you follow the One who understands exactly how it feels to be wronged, and who chose love anyway. He does not ask you to feel warmth you do not have; He asks you to entrust your enemy to God, as He did. And He offers to carry the bitterness you were never meant to hold, so that hatred does not become your prison.
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Questions people ask
How can I pray for someone I genuinely hate?
Start by being honest with God about the hatred; He already knows, and He can handle it. You do not have to manufacture warm feelings to obey Jesus here. Pray something like, God, I do not want to bless this person, but You told me to, so please change my heart. Ask Him to free you from the bitterness first. The love often follows the obedience, slowly. Praying for an enemy is less about fixing them and more about God healing you.
Does praying for my enemy mean I have to let them keep hurting me?
No. Praying for someone and protecting yourself from them are not opposites. Jesus told us to love our enemies, not to enable ongoing abuse. You can pray for a person's good while also setting firm boundaries, ending contact, or seeking help and safety where real harm exists. Forgiveness releases your right to revenge; it does not require you to stay in danger. Entrust the person to God, and take the wise, protective steps that love for yourself also requires.
What if I pray for my enemy but the anger keeps coming back?
That is normal, and it is not failure. Anger over real wrong does not vanish in a single prayer; it comes back in waves, especially when the memory resurfaces. Each time it rises, bring it back to God and hand the person over again. Paul says to leave vengeance to Him, so keep giving up the score-settling to the God who sees all. Healing from deep hurt is a process of repeated release, not a one-time event. Be patient with yourself.