Sample Prayer of Forgiveness and Soul Healing

Welcome back to our series about Finding Deep Soul Healing 101! In this series, we have talked about:

• 7 Basic Keys to Inner Healing
• What Is Unforgiveness Jail? (And How to Get Out of It)
• Do You Ever Have to Forgive God?
• Beware the Faceted Nature of Hurts and Wounds
• Learn THIS About Boundaries
• 8 Keys to Hearing God for Inner Healing

Please be sure you have read those free articles listed above if you want to receive maximum benefit from the soul healing process. However, you can still pray the sample prayer for forgiveness and soul healing below, even if you haven’t read the rest of the series. This prayer, even by itself, will still do you a world of good! 🙂

As we talked about in 8 Keys to Hearing God for Inner Healing, the key to forgiving someone so that it doesn’t hurt anymore is to pray through.

“Praying through,” in this case, simply means to pray about the thing that hurt you–and pray about every part of it–and give it all to the Lord. That is a VERY different way to forgive than what most people employ.

(Usually, people just say, “I forgive! I forgive! I forgive, I forgive, I forgive” … and they really mean it, but they don’t feel healed.)

The reason that praying when you forgive someone brings you healing is because of this verse:

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22 NKJV).

It is casting your burden on the Lord that brings you sustenance, and that keeps you from being impacted (“moved”) any more by the situation. Thus, it is casting your burden on the Lord–in other words, by praying through to forgive–that brings healing.

So are you ready to pray through to forgive the people who have hurt you?

And yes, I did say “the people.” I have seen people pray this prayer for one person at a time, and I have also seen them pray this prayer about dozens of people at one time. Either way, it worked! So you can do it either way.

I would just forgive as many people as you can, as fast as you can, if it were me. But you follow the leading of the Lord and do whatever you have peace about.

Also, it helps to ask the Lord to help you pray through this prayer before you start.

Remember that Jesus told us we can’t do anything without Him, but we can do everything WITH His help:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NKJV).

And also:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).

So before you start, why not ask Jesus to help you forgive?

Just say:

“Dear Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, and precious Holy Spirit, please help me to pray this prayer and forgive all who have hurt me. Help me to forgive them like You, Jesus, forgave the thief on the cross, and like You forgave the people who crucified You. Thank You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”

And after you pray that, pray the actual sample prayer for forgiveness and soul healing below.

As you pray, fill in the blanks with actual people’s names and what they did to you. This prayer must be spoken out loud. And if you are leading someone else in this prayer, just lead them through 2-3 words at a time. It will help them concentrate on forgiving, rather than on repeating whole sentences at once. 🙂

Here is the full sample prayer for forgiveness and soul healing for you to pray:

“Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ name, I choose to forgive      (insert person’s name)       for:

• Abandoning me;
• Rejecting me;
• Leaving me alone;
• Not loving me;
• Not being there for me;
• Not believing in me;
• Checking out emotionally;
• Making me afraid;
• Abusing me;
• Not loving my family;
• Not being faithful to my family/mother/father;
• Not providing for me like a father/mother/etc should;
• Saying mean things;
• Not having good things to say;
• Touching me wrongly;
• Not touching me rightly or in loving ways;
• Not giving me the affection I deserved as their child/spouse/friend;
• Not raising me up spiritually;
• Not being a spiritual or prayer covering over our family;
• Being angry;
• Bullying me;
• Making fun of me;
• Not accepting me;
• Not giving me opportunity;
• Shaming me;
• Ridiculing me;
• Smothering me;
• Betraying my trust;
• Not being reliable;
• Saying ________;
• Calling me a _________;
• Not releasing me to fly;
• For manipulating me;
• For not encouraging me to be who God created me to be—an original;
• For telling me how to think;
• For not encouraging me to be me;
• For making me fearful;
• For never seeing the best in me;
• For not letting me speak;
• For comparing me to other people;
• For preferring other people over me;
• For always thinking the worst of me;
• For not caring about my heart; and
• ______ (insert any other thing here that comes to mind, both what they did and what they failed to do.)

Father God, I choose to leave these things, let them go, and give up all resentment.

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, disgust, resentment, and even a spirit of murder 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.

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.”

After you pray, take a deep breath.

How do you feel?

Most people say they feel lighter and at peace. Many people feel almost dazed at how peaceful their body, soul, and spirit feels after so many days, months, or years of torment. THAT, my friend, is the work of God. It is HEALING.

After you pray this prayer, I highly recommend that you also pray this prayer to break soul ties here. The two prayers go together, hand-in-hand.

Please bookmark this prayer, or get the prayer cards above, so you can refer to this prayer often.

I use this sample prayer of forgiveness and soul healing all the time, both for myself and for others. If someone is mean to me, or if I get mad at my husband, or if someone cuts me off in traffic, I pray this prayer. I use it for everything … because it works!

Did you pray this sample prayer of forgiveness and soul healing today? If so, how do you feel now? Please leave a comment below!