Prayer for When You Feel Violated

The day before I wrote this article, I found out that over $66,000 worth of my writing and materials had been scraped by a person who used my intellectual property to build his own for-profit kingdom. He didn’t steal cash. Instead, he scraped my content and republished it word-for-word.

$66,000 is a conservative estimate of the value of what he stole.

That’s conservative based on the licensing fees he should have paid for the content I counted that he stole. The reality is that he stole much more than that, if you look at all the side benefits we lost and he gained from our material.

I feel violated, and I’m angry as all get-out.

You may not know or realize this, but I write from my life. I write from my own learning, experience, and pain.

Most of the time, I write the prayers that I need myself. I write prophetic words the Lord speaks to me. I fight the devil every day to survive, and the Lord has called me to take the fresh bread from the Word that He gives me–the manna from Heaven that He uses to keep ME alive–and preach it to you too. I write and I teach from what God has taught me THROUGH PAIN.

But it costs me nearly everything to do that.

This ministry comes at a great personal sacrifice.

People are often jealous of me, because they think it must be so fun being in full-time ministry. And I AM grateful for the opportunity to be in full-time ministry. God did this; He grew this ministry and has made a way for me and my staff, providing for us along the way. Only God. I’d never want to disrespect what He has done for me.

But He did it using people, and PEOPLE have sacrificed:

• generous readers like you who support with sacrificial donations and purchase materials;
• our incredible staff, board, and team of volunteers who work so hard, day in and day out;
• people who pray and intercede for us;
• and me.

And we have sweated and proverbially bled over every bit of it. You have no idea how painful it has been to be here, and you’ll never know unless you start a ministry and work with the Lord to build it the same way. This is a thing you cannot know unless you have experienced it yourself.

So for someone to take the material God has given us to heal our pain, and to use it without permission for their own personal profit, while at the same time drawing readers away from us and to themselves using OUR material, is egregious. Heinous. I’m angry as all get-out.

Vengeance belongs to God, and God will repay. And I want the Lord to repay me for this violation.

Here’s what I want from the Father to make up for this loss and violation:

• First, I want the cash equivalent of the intellectual property, readers, pageviews, and readership that that man stole–and I want it now.
• I want this month to be our most prosperous month EVER for this ministry. I’m tired of having to proverbially bleed and fast and pray for revelation and fresh bread to feed you from the Word–and for the Lord’s provision to publish that bread–while people send us hate mail because they want something for nothing. The Bible says that the people who benefit from a ministry are supposed to support that ministry financially, and we have many partners who give what they can. THANK YOU, if you’re one of them. However, you truly would not believe how many people get mad when we invite them to sow into this work that benefits THEM. I’m tired of that. Every person should be helping if they benefit–and I want that to happen this month and every month going forward. It shouldn’t be hard.
• I want our entire London mission team and their travel expenses paid for in cash, in advance, in full.
• I want a full theatre in London at our mentoring conference. Every single person on fire and raring to go, showing up to stab the devil in the eye, and ready to take the parts of the UK and Europe that are between their own two feet for Jesus.
• I want to hire a staff member effective immediately to be our missionary to YouVersion and push out our content to over 500 million devices around the world. That means someone would have to sponsor her salary.
• I want to hire a content coordinator to turn this ministry into a group ministry that publishes content from multiple staff teachers, similar to what Proverbs 31 Ministries does. I want multiple people to have opportunity to write and teach through this platform–not just me and my existing staff. People are desperate for opportunity, and I know five teachers right now I’d like to bring on board. God has given me this platform not only for me, but so I can raise up others. That means someone would have to sponsor their salaries. People have to feed their families; they can’t work for free and ministry takes everything out of you. They need to be paid, and they need for this work to be their full-time job.
• I want to hire a graphic designer to focus on Pinterest plus our magazine that I have been trying to get out for about 2 years now. Pinterest is one of our biggest traffic sources. Our Pinterest needs attention, but I’m our only graphic designer and there’s only so much of me to go around.
• I want our parsonages built NOW. I’m tired of seeing abused pastors and we can’t do a thing about it because we don’t have houses yet to give them. We need 3 more Few Good Men to stand up with their gift of $15,000 or more to get the road built, the first driveway off that road built, and the utilities run. Then, I am asking the Lord for $1,600,000 to build the four houses plus landscaping plus vegetable garden, fruit trees, and fencing for these pastoral families. And I want the parsonages FINISHED by December 31 of THIS YEAR. That means someone needs to stand up with the first and second million-dollar gifts NOW.

And in the name of Jesus, I am submitting an invoice to Heaven for all these things to be provided and repaid to me, to us, and to this ministry now.

I also wrote a prayer that you might pray when you feel violated.

To be honest, I wrote this prayer for myself. I was having a really difficult time processing all these things, but I felt Holy Spirit tell me to write the prayer out so I could process through it that way. And it really helped. I was able to forgive the man who stole from us using this prayer.

But maybe you’ve been violated too:

• Maybe you’ve had someone steal your ideas at work.
• Maybe an opportunity you cherished was given to someone else unfairly.
• Maybe a promotion that your boss promised you was taken away and given to someone else unexpectedly.

If your work, space, ideas, emotions, or ministry have also been violated, then maybe this prayer will help you too.

I hope it does; please tell me if it does. I know it’s a really niche topic, but I’m believing God to work all this for good–and publishing this prayer to stab the devil in the eye and see other people set free is part of that.

So if you feel violated in your work–if you’ve had ideas and intellectual property stolen from you–then pray the prayer below with me today.

And I pray the Lord would give you grace and strength as you pray.

Pray this:

“Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name.

Father, thank You for being with me right now. I really need Your help, and Jesus’ help, and help from Your Holy Spirit.

Thank You for being with me always, even to the end of the world. I praise You, for You are omnipresent–everywhere at once–and You are in Jesus and Jesus is in me, so You are in me too. You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You.

Abba Father, You see that I’ve been violated. I need Your help right now to process this and to forgive, for I cannot forgive on my own or by myself.

I really need You to change my heart and help me work through this. Please help me forgive this person who violated me and hurt me and stole from me, just like Jesus forgave the Romans who crucified Him.

Father, You know what it has cost me to be faithful to You.

I know I haven’t bled like Jesus bled, but I have given my whole self to You. And for someone else to profit from my pain, and from what it has cost me to serve You, isn’t right.

Father, I confess I hate the person who did this to me.

Your Word defines “hatred” as “loving less,” and I definitely don’t love this person like I love others. That means I hate them, and I know hatred is sin–even when I have a good reason for my hatred.

I confess my sin of hatred to You, Father, and I repent of it. Please forgive me. Cover me and wash me with the blood of Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit where that was, and comfort me. Heal my heart and give me a great love for this person like You love them, Father.

Abba, I am also angry at this person. And the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness God requires.

Father, I am mad because they violated me. They took my pain and work and labor and emotional blood and sweat and tears, and they profited from it without permission. They didn’t do a thing to help me, and they took what I had–what it feels like I have given my life to obtain–for themselves.

I’m angry, Father. Furious. Bubbling over with rage. How could they, Father? It’s disgusting. What they did is disgusting. How could they even think that is okay to do? And why did You let them?

Father, I don’t understand, but my eyes are on You.

I have to repent of my sin in order to have a clean heart before You. So, this rage I feel, Father: I repent of it. This anger because they violated my personal space: I confess it to You. And even if any part of it is righteous anger at the injustice of it all, I still hand it over to You. And I renounce agreement with all unrighteous portions of this anger.

Please forgive me for getting so angry, Lord. I confess I have hated them and been filled with rage and anger and hatred against them. I’m sorry. It’s sin. I release it to You, and I ask that You would vindicate me and forgive me. Help me to leave it in Your hands.

Father, Your Word says I must forgive them for violating me and stealing from me, and for stealing from the people I love.

Therefore, Father, in Jesus’ name, I submit to You and Your Word. I choose to forgive      (insert person’s name)       for      (insert what they did and also what they failed to do)       . I choose to leave these things. I’m letting them go right now and placing them in Your hands. I choose to give up all my rights to being mad at these things. I give up my resentment, and I cast it at Your feet. I forgive.

Father God, I place these things in Your hands right now. By Your grace and mercy, I choose to not pick any of these things back up anymore. I take my hands off of these things, and I look up into Your eyes.

Optional: Father God, I know that whenever I give You something that You have asked me to release to You, You have something better for me in return. So Father God, because I have handed You my hurt, I know You have something better. Father, please show me: what are You giving me in exchange for all these things I’ve handed over to You?

 (Pause a moment here. The first thought that flashes across your mind that lines up with God’s Word is usually what Holy Spirit is saying—even if you feel it’s too good to be true. He will always tell you what He’s giving you if you ask Him. And when He does, take a moment, thank Him, and tell Him that you receive the gift(s) He’s giving you.)

Now Father God, in Jesus’ name, I confess that I have harbored bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, anger, rage, resentment, and even a spirit of murder and vengeance toward this person. Lord, I confess these things as sin. Please forgive me for my sin.

Cover me and wash me with the blood of Jesus. Fill me with the Holy Spirit where all these things were, and make me like You. Give me wisdom to know what to do, and how to handle this person and this situation, going forward.

And now, Father, I pray for      (insert person’s name)       . Forgive them for everything they’ve done. Cover them and wash them with the blood of Jesus. Give them a new heart, and make them pure and holy. Fill them with the Holy Spirit and draw them closer to Yourself. Bless them, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Beloved, if your work and ideas have ever been violated, you know the anger and outrage of it.

But according to Matthew 18:15-17, we have to confront it. And according to Matthew 18:21-35, we have to forgive as well. That doesn’t mean not taking action; great wisdom is needed for follow-up action. But to be right with God, confront and forgive.

I love you in the Lord, friend. Thanks for praying for me, and for being part of this community.

Did this prayer for when you feel violated help you at all? If so, leave a comment below.