Prayer of Forgiveness

Sit in prayer with the intention of forgiving someone who has hurt you. Often they are not people who shout at you, but who threaten your dignity as a person more subtly, often they do it smiling! You could pick them out in your distractions in prayer, that is, when you are praying your thoughts go towards some people. You perhaps realize there is something not okay between you and that person, so you need to sort it out. Sorting things out face to face with that person may not be easy, and may even worsen the situation. You have no courage either. So you begin to sort it out in prayer. This exercise could be useful even for serious aggression, but you may need more help.

You might want to read a passage from the Bible. My favourite is Lk 15.

Quietly prepare yourself for the operation – to forgive, realising that it is God who really forgives. Become aware that you are in the presence of God. So let your attitude in prayer be, “God help me to forgive; God, please forgive.”

Imagine that you are somehow communicating with the person who has hurt you. Recollect the instances which have caused hurt, well aware that you are in the presence of God.

You may recite a litany of offences addressing them to the person who has hurt you, adding at the end of every invocation, “I forgive you, may God forgive you!” You might want to write down your feelings on paper.

For instance, “You said I am stupid. I felt humiliated. I forgive you for this, may God forgive you.” Do this until you are exhausted, and the litany has come to a natural end.

Surprisingly, usually at the end of this session I catch myself saying, “Lord, forgive me, for holding up all these hurt and making myself unhappy.”

Close the session by thanking God. If you have written down the offences, then you may burn the paper. You may go for a walk, breathe some fresh air, and enjoy the inner freedom that forgiveness brings.

Remain open to respect the dignity of that person, and to evolve a new type of relationship in due course.