Praying for the one that hurt me.

Some wounds don’t just hurt… they linger.

And if we’re honest, it’s easy to pray about everything else—
 except the people who caused the pain.

In this powerful episode of Letting Go, Living Free, Kathryn walks through one of the most challenging instructions found in Matthew 5:44—to pray for those who hurt you.

This is not about excusing what happened.
 This is about breaking free from what it continues to do inside of you.

Through honest reflection, spiritual insight, and practical tools, this episode will help you:

•  Understand why praying for them is tied to your freedom 
•  Release emotional weight you may not realize you’re still carrying 
•  Begin the process of healing—even if you’re not “there” yet 

This episode is for the one who’s ready to stop rehearsing the pain…
 and start walking in real freedom.

🎧 Listen with an open heart.
 🕊️ Reflect honestly.
 📤 Then send this to 3 people who may need to be reminded—they don’t have to carry it anymore.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

There are some wounds that don't just hurt, they stay. The words that cut deep, the betrayal you didn't see coming, the silence where there should have been love. And if we're honest, it's easy to pray about everything else except for the people who cause the pain. Welcome to the Letting Go Living Free, the podcast where we do the deep, sometimes uncomfortable work of releasing what's been holding us bound so we can walk in the freedom God has already given us. Because today we're stepping into one of the hardest instructions in Scripture. Not just to forgive, but to pray for those who hurt you. This isn't about excusing what happened. This is about refusing to stay in prison fight. So pull up your chair, grab your coffee, get your journal, and let's get started. In Matthew 5.44, Jesus says, 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. This isn't a suggestion, this is instruction. And if we're being real, this is one of the most difficult things God will ever ask you to do. Let's be honest about why this is so difficult. Because when someone hurts you, it doesn't just affect your emotion, it affects your trust, it affects how you see people, it affects how you show up in relationships, it even tries to affect how you see God. And when pain goes deep, your heart doesn't just say I'm hurt, it says I need to protect myself from ever feeling that again. So when God says pray for them, it can feel like he's asking you to lower your guard before you feel safe. But this is the difference. God is not asking you to remove wisdom, he's asking you to release the weight. Because if you don't do this, the pain doesn't just sit quietly. It starts to show up in other places. It shows up in how quickly you get irritated. It shows up in how hard it is to trust people again. It shows up in how guarded you become. It shows up in how easily offenses take root. And before you know it, you're responding to people based on what someone else did to you. That's how unhealed pain spreads. And God in his love is saying, I don't want you living like that. You see, there was a time in my life when I was deeply hurt by something. And I carried it way longer than I realized. I wasn't talking about it, I wasn't reacting outwardly, but inwardly, I promise you, I promise you, I promise you, I was still holding on to it. And every time their name came up, there was tension, tension in my neck, tension in my arm, tension in my back, tension in my jaws. And God dealt with me gently but clearly. He said, You've released it with your mouth, but not with your heart. And then came the instruction I did not want. Pray for them. Not a quick prayer, not a surface prayer, but a real one. And I'll be honest, at first it felt forced, but as I kept doing it, something began to break. Not in them, but in me. The anger softened, the weight lifted, the grip that situation had on me loosened. And let me say this clearly: praying for someone who hurts you does not mean you excuse what they did, or that you have to allow them back into your life, or that you ignore boundaries. No, it means you refuse to let what they did continue to have power over you. When you begin to pray for someone who hurts you, you are doing more than speaking words. You are breaking agreement with bitterness. I will not let this make me hard. You're telling your spirit I choose freedom over a fence. And over time, your prayers begin to shift from effort to sincerity, from resistance to release. Now I want you to do something right here if you're in a place where you can just pause for a moment and bring that person to mind. Yes, that one. Help me to see them the way you do. You don't have to feel it fully yet. Just start the process. Remind yourself, speak out. I will not let what they did to me turn me into someone I'm not. I will not carry bitterness into my next season. I will not allow pain to define how I love, trust, or live. I choose healing. I choose release. I choose freedom. Now, this may not happen overnight, but every time you choose to pray instead of rehearse the pain, you are taking your life back one prayer at a time. Because praying for someone who hurts you feels unnatural. You might be thinking they don't deserve my prayers. They know exactly what they did. They played in my face. Why should I go to God on their behalf? And here's the truth: you're right. They may not deserve it, but this was never about what they deserved. This is about your freedom. When you refuse to pray for those who hurt you, you stay tied to the pain that they cause. Not because they're holding you, but because the wound is still alive in you. And when you begin to pray, I promise you something will shift. Now I want to share with you a few practical tools because I want this to be doable for you. Number one, start honest, not perfect. If all you can say is, God help me to even want to pray for them, listen, that's a real place to begin. Number two, pray God's will, not your emotions. Instead of God deal with them, pray God heal them. God reveal truth to them. God do in them what you've done in me. And number three, be consistent, not emotional. You may not feel it every time, but do it anyway. Healing is not always emotional. Sometimes it's intentional. And number four, watch your internal response. Pay attention. Does their name still trigger you? That's your indicator there's still healing happening. I want you to pause for just a moment and ask yourself, who have I avoided praying for? What name still stirs something in me? And what pain have I said I've released that I still carry? Take a breath here. You don't have to carry that anymore. Now, before we end this podcast, I would love to pray for you. So let's pray. Father, I come before you right now on behalf of every listener. You see every wound, every betrayal, every silent hurt they've carried. And today we bring it to you, not to ignore it, not to minimize it, but to release it. God, give them the strength to do what feels impossible. Where there is anger, soften it. Where there is pain, heal it. Where there is resistance, meet them with your grace. Teach them how to pray even when it feels uncomfortable. Teach them how to release what they've been holding on to. And God, we lift up every person who has caused pain. Not because they earned it, but because you commanded it. And we ask you that you would heal them, transform them, and bring them into truth. And most of all, disconnect every emotional tie that is keeping your people bound. Let freedom rise, let peace return, and let healing begin fully. In Jesus' name. Amen. Today you didn't just hear a message, you received an invitation to release, to heal, and to be free. Praying for those who hurt you is not weakness, it's freedom in motion. And if this spoke to you, don't keep it to yourself. Send this podcast to three people who may be carrying something they don't need to carry anymore. Because healing spreads when we're willing to share it. And as always, keep letting go and keep living free. Until next time,