Praying Scripture: Prayer for Forgiveness and Healing

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(Newly added, April 2022) 

Prayer for Forgiveness and Healing:

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 32:5: “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

Acts 3:19: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

Psalm 103:11-12: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Romans 3:22-24: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:17: “… if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”

Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”

Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Luke 6:27: “… Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

 

          Lord, I know that sin affects my eternity and my relationship with You, with myself, and with others.  And in order to have the best life possible, in eternity and on earth, I need Your forgiveness for my sins and I need to forgive others for their sins against me, as You have forgiven me. 

          Lord, I thank You that Jesus died for my sins on the cross so that I could be saved from hell and go to heaven.  I thank You for Your promise to forgive my sins if I confess them to You.  I want to be forgiven.  I want to be cleansed from my sins and to experience the healing and times of refreshing that You promise.  And so right now, I confess my sins to You.  (Specifically confess any known sins to God right now.)  Reveal to me any sins that I am hiding or that I have forgotten but that I need to confess to You.  (Take some time to listen for His answer throughout the week.  When He reveals any, confess them.)  I thank You, Lord, that You paid for all these sins on the cross.  They are already forgiven.  And we don’t have to earn or work for Your forgiveness.  In fact, no one can earn Your forgiveness.  All we have to do, all we can do, is reach out and accept it as the free gift it is.  If I have made You my Lord and Savior, I don’t have to pay for my sins eternally or be beaten down by them on earth anymore. 

          [If you haven’t yet accepted Jesus as Lord as Savior, do so now with a prayer that’s as simple as “Lord, I admit that I am a sinner and I can’t save myself.  I need You.  Thank You for dying for my sins so that I could go to heaven and for rising again to prove You are God.  I accept Your sacrifice for my sins right now.  Forgive me and cleanse me.  I am putting my faith in You right now and choosing You as my Lord and Savior.  And I want to live the rest of my life for You.  Help me do that.  Make me who You want me to be.  Thank You for Your amazing grace, mercy, and love.  In Jesus’s name, Amen.”] 

          Lord, I thank You that You have made me a new creation, that You have taken the old away, removing my sins as far as the east is from the west.  I thank You that even though I may still have to face the consequences of my sins on earth, You are with me and will help me face it.  I thank You that I am not condemned for my sins anymore in Your eyes because of what You did for me on the cross.  Because of Jesus’s death, You now see me as righteous.  He took my sins away.  Help me to live in gratitude for that precious truth, for Jesus’s amazing sacrifice. 

          But Lord, even though I know this is the truth, I still sometimes feel ashamed and guilty.  And I know this is from the enemy, the one who wants to hurt me, to make me ashamed, and to ruin my relationship with You and my future.  In the name of Jesus, I resist the devil and his attempts to hurt me, to make me feel ashamed, unforgiven, hopeless, helpless, or unloved.  (“Submit yourself, then, to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:7-8) 

          I am a child of Yours, Lord.  You love me.  You are my hope and my help.  You forgave my sins.  I matter to You just because I am Yours.  And since I am Your child, the devil doesn’t have any power over me anymore, other than the power I let him have when I give in to him, his lies, and to sin.  But right now, I am confessing my sins to You and drawing near to You.  I am resisting the devil’s lies, in Jesus’s name.  And according to Your Word, the devil has to flee.  Greater is the Holy Spirit who is in me than the devil who is in the world (1 John 4:4).  Thank You, Lord, for Your presence, power, and help.  Thank You for Your victory over evil.  Help me to understand what it truly means to be a child of God, how I should live in this world and do battle in the spiritual world. 

          Lord, I will trust You when You say that You forgave my sins, that You love me, that You made me a new creation, that You do not condemn me anymore, and that I am righteous in Your eyes because of what Jesus did for me.  Please, Lord, surround me with Your heavenly angels to keep the enemy away.  Surround me with Your truth and Your healing love, to help me to feel the forgiveness and love and grace and mercy that You pour out on me. 

          Lord, I know that part of living as Your child is forgiving other people for what they did to me.  If we want Your forgiveness, we have to forgive others.  This is going to be hard for me, Lord, so please help me do it.  You don’t say that we have to feel like forgiving them or that we have to want to forgive them; You just say that we have to do it.  And so even if I don’t feel like forgiving them, I’m going to do it anyway.  Just because You said I have to.  After all, if You died on the cross to forgive me for what I did wrong, then surely I can forgive others for what they did wrong. 

          And so right now, I am going to forgive other people for what they did to me.  (Name each person you’re forgiving and what you’re forgiving them for.  Tell the Lord that you forgive that person and won’t hold their offenses against them anymore.  Ask Him to give you a tender heart for them, to help you see them and love them as He does, even if you never see them anymore or have to stay away from them.  It’s okay if you have to love someone from a distance.)

          Lord, I put these people and the hurts they caused me in Your hands right now.  Forgive me for the bitterness I’ve had towards them, for the anger that kept me prisoner, and for the things I’ve done in revenge for what they did.  I give up my “right” to hold their sins against them anymore.  I give up the bitterness I feel and the desire for revenge.  I trust You to deal justly with their sins, in Your time and in Your way.  But, please, heal the hurt they caused me and the heart-wounds they’ve given me.  Turn it into something good, for Your glory and Your purposes and my future. 

          In fact, You even say that we should pray for those who mistreat us.  And so right now I pray for the people who hurt me.  I pray that You would guide them to You, meet their needs, and help them find healing too.  (Pray for each individual person by name, if you can.) 

          And help me, Lord, to live in forgiveness from here on out, in the forgiveness I gave others and in the forgiveness You gave me.  Help me to see those other people the way You see them and to see myself the way You see me.  Help me to feel for them what You feel for them.  Help me to understand how You feel about me.  Help me to remember that I am Your child, that I am forgiven, that I am loved, and that You have a future full of hope and purpose planned for me.  And even if it’s not the future I thought it would be, You can still make it into something good and useful for Your kingdom.  Help me learn to follow as You lead me. 

          Lord, I know I will continue to stumble, and so I ask You to help keep my heart sensitive to anything I need to confess to You in the future, to anyone I need to seek forgiveness from, or to anyone else I need to forgive.  Thank You that You always forgive us when we confess our sins to You and that You will always comfort us and restore our souls when we cry out to You, no matter what we do.  Fill me with the hope and peace and healing that is found in You alone.  Thank You for Your amazing grace.  Because of what You have done for me, I can be whole and healed and live a meaningful life for You.  Help me to do that.  Make me the person You want me to be.  And help me to share Your grace, love, and truth with others who need it too. 

          In Jesus’s name, Amen



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