Prayer for forgiveness of others who hurt you addresses one of the hardest things scripture asks of us, releasing real, deserved anger toward someone who genuinely wronged us. This is not pretending the hurt did not happen, but choosing to let go of what it would cost to keep holding onto it.
These thirty prayers walk through that difficult release. If a prayer for a heavy heart named the weight this hurt has left behind, let this prayer be the specific work of releasing what is causing that weight.
Pray these slowly, naming the person and the hurt honestly before God as you go.
Prayer for Forgiveness of Others Who Hurt You
1. Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV)
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Prayer: Father, if I forgive others their trespasses, You will also forgive mine. Let me forgive as fully as I have been forgiven.
Let me remember how much I have been forgiven, before deciding how much to withhold.
2. Ephesians 4:31-32 (KJV)
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Prayer: Lord, help me get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, being kind and compassionate, forgiving as You forgave me.
Let bitterness actually leave, not just quiet down temporarily.
3. Colossians 3:13 (KJV)
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Prayer: Father, help me bear with this person and forgive whatever grievance I have against them, the way You forgave me.
Let this forgiveness be as complete as the forgiveness I have already received.
4. Luke 6:37 (KJV)
“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”
Prayer: Lord, help me not judge or condemn, but forgive, trusting that I too need to be forgiven.
Let me hold this person’s wrongs the way I hope mine are held.
5. Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
Prayer: Father, You did not tell Peter to forgive seven times, but seventy-seven times. Let me forgive that many times too, if needed.
Let me not keep a tally of how many times forgiveness has already been extended.
6. Mark 11:25 (KJV)
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Prayer: Lord, when I stand praying, let me forgive whatever I have against anyone, so my own prayers are not hindered.
Let unforgiveness not become the thing standing between me and You.
7. Luke 23:34 (KJV)
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
Prayer: Father, forgive them, for they did not know what they were doing. Let me pray that same prayer over the person who hurt me.
Let me consider whether this hurt came from genuine malice or from human failure.
8. Romans 12:17-18 (KJV)
“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
Prayer: Lord, help me not repay evil for evil, but as far as it depends on me, live at peace with this person.
Let peace be possible, even if reconciliation is not.
9. 1 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
“Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”
Prayer: Father, help me not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing instead.
Let blessing, not retaliation, be my actual response, even when it feels undeserved.
10. Hebrews 12:14-15 (KJV)
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”
Prayer: Lord, help me watch that no root of bitterness grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
Let this hurt not spread and poison other relationships too.
11. Genesis 50:19-21 (KJV)
“And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
Prayer: Father, Joseph told his brothers, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Let me trust that same redemption is possible here.
Let me trust something good can still come from what was meant to harm me.
12. Matthew 5:44 (KJV)
“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;”
Prayer: Lord, You tell me to love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me. Let me actually pray for this person, not just tolerate them.
Let genuine prayer, not just gritted-teeth restraint, shape how I respond.
13. Luke 17:3-4 (KJV)
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”
Prayer: Father, if this person sins against me repeatedly and repents, let me forgive them, even if it happens again and again.
Let genuine repentance be met with genuine forgiveness, not suspicion.
14. Proverbs 19:11 (KJV)
“The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.”
Prayer: Lord, help me have good sense and be slow to anger, overlooking an offense as my glory rather than reacting to it.
Let overlooking this offense feel like strength, not weakness.
15. Ephesians 4:26 (KJV)
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”
Prayer: Father, help me not let the sun go down while I am still angry, releasing this before it hardens into something worse.
Let me not let this anger sit and calcify overnight.
16. Proverbs 20:22 (KJV)
“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.”
Prayer: Lord, help me not say, I will pay them back, but wait on You, and You will deliver me.
Let me trust You with justice, instead of trying to administer it myself.
17. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (KJV)
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;”
Prayer: Father, let love be patient and kind, keeping no record of wrongs. Let me release the record I have been keeping.
Let me actually let go of the mental tally I have kept of this wrong.
18. Matthew 5:23-24 (KJV)
“Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Prayer: Lord, You say to leave my offering and first be reconciled. Let me pursue peace here, wherever that is genuinely possible.
Let reconciliation be pursued honestly, not avoided out of pride.
19. Psalms 103:8-10 (KJV)
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”
Prayer: Father, You are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, not treating me as my sins deserve. Let me extend that same mercy.
Let this mercy toward them feel possible because of the mercy I have already received.
20. Proverbs 24:29 (KJV)
“Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.”
Prayer: Lord, help me not say, I will do to them what they did to me, but release the desire for equal retaliation.
Let me break the cycle here, instead of continuing it.
21. James 5:9 (KJV)
“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”
Prayer: Father, help me not hold a grudge, so I will not be judged by the same standard I am applying to them.
Let me measure myself by the same grace I am asking You to give.
22. Romans 12:14 (KJV)
“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.”
Prayer: Lord, help me bless those who persecute me, bless and do not curse.
Let blessing come from a genuine place, not clenched teeth.
23. Colossians 3:12-13 (KJV)
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Prayer: Father, clothe me with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with this person and forgiving them.
Let these qualities be genuinely evident, not just aspired to.
24. 1 John 4:20 (KJV)
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
Prayer: Lord, if I say I love You but hate this person, I am not being honest. Let my love for You show up in how I treat them.
Let my love for You be evident in this specific, difficult relationship.
25. Matthew 6:12 (KJV)
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
Prayer: Father, forgive me my debts, as I forgive my debtors. Let my own forgiveness of others match what I am asking You for.
Let this prayer actually align my own forgiveness with what I am requesting.
26. Isaiah 43:18-19 (KJV)
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Prayer: Lord, help me not dwell on the past, for You are doing a new thing. Let this forgiveness open the door to that new thing.
Let forgiving this hurt make room for something new to grow.
27. Psalms 37:8 (KJV)
“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
Prayer: Father, help me refrain from anger and turn from wrath, not fretting, for that only leads to more harm.
Let this anger not lead me somewhere I will later regret.
28. Micah 7:18-19 (KJV)
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
Prayer: Lord, who is a God like You, pardoning sin and delighting to show mercy? Let that same mercy shape how I forgive.
Let me delight in mercy the way You do, not just tolerate it grudgingly.
29. Romans 12:19 (KJV)
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Prayer: Father, vengeance is Yours, You will repay. Let me leave what I cannot forgive alone in Your hands.
Let me trust Your justice enough to release my own desire for it.
30. Proverbs 17:9 (KJV)
“He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.”
Prayer: Father, whoever covers an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats it separates close friends.
Let me choose covering this offense with love, not repeating it to keep it alive.
Conclusion
Prayer for forgiveness of others who hurt you does not minimize what actually happened, scripture never asks us to pretend real wrongs were not real. It asks something harder, to release what holding on would eventually cost us.
Return to these verses whenever this hurt resurfaces, trusting that forgiveness is a process, not a single decision made once and finished.
For the weight this hurt has left behind, a prayer for a heavy heart and a prayer for inner peace both pair naturally with this one.