7 Powerful Resentment Prayers to Release Anger

Release anger and find peace with a resentment prayer, inviting God’s healing and forgiveness into your heart.

With the help of resentment prayer, we acknowledge the weakness that prevents us from forgiving the people who wronged us. We also implore God to remind us to become merciful in the same way that He shows mercy to sinners.

God is the essence of love and compassion (1 John 4:16). As His children, we are expected to live by His example and be kind to one another. However, some may give us hate instead of returning the same kindness that we show them. This will lead to harboring resentment, which we should not allow to take over our lives. 

What is a Resentment Prayer?

A resentment prayer is an admission to our Lord that the pain we endured from a particular person or situation is too much that we are no longer capable of forgiving. This prayer is a request for clarity of mind and emotional strength to let go of our hatred so that we may continue to live peacefully.

We must understand that the resentment prayer will mainly benefit you, the person who prays to absolve others of the sins they committed against you. The reward of forgiving other people wholeheartedly, even before they get to ask for forgiveness, is peace of mind (Ephesians 4:32). You will have the opportunity to start anew—stronger, wiser, and without the emotional baggage pulling you down.

What is Resentment? 

Resentment is the negative feeling coming from the unfair treatment that we get from other people. At times, we also feel resentment toward a situation that makes us uncomfortable.

It is normal to feel disappointed when things don’t go our way, but it becomes harmful when we refuse to let go of this feeling. When we start to resent, we are closing our doors to make amends and instead focus on the hatred that we feel.

How Does Resentment Affect Your Life? 

Choosing resentment instead of forgiveness does not only affect your relationships with other people but also your outlook in life. Understandably, there is a kind of emotional damage that takes time to mend but to openly resent the person will not make the healing process easier.

Hating someone who mistreated you would only push you to relive the moment when you got hurt, making you feel more vulnerable and insecure. When this happens, you will find it hard to trust people again, or worse, you will start questioning God for letting you suffer.

When you hold on to anger, the most important relationship that you risk straining is your relationship with God. Anger will make you unable to receive God’s blessings with your hands because you prefer to make a clenched fist out of them.

Moreover, resentment will make you believe that getting revenge is the only way to resolve your issue when, in fact, you will only cut open the old wounds.

Signs of Resentment

A clear sign of resentment is keeping vivid memories of the moment when you felt maligned. It is easy for you to recall even the smallest detail of that time when a person once dear to you had mistreated you.

Also, you still feel strong emotions every time you reminisce about that moment. You can also tell that the resentment towards a person has grown when catching sight of that person is enough to ruin your mood for the day.

Resentment can also take the form of bad habits and vices that will cause more harm. Since you refuse to let go of the bitterness in your life, you might deal with your negative feelings alone by committing unhealthy practices such as drinking and gambling.

Popular Resentment Prayers

The 4th Step Resentment Prayer of AA

One known and effective resentment prayer to get rid of deep-seated anger is the 4th Step Resentment Prayer of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). This prayer is derived from the 12-step recovery program used by AA to help millions of alcoholic persons all over the world in controlling their drinking problems.

Just like what is being done in this recovery program, the resentment prayer makes the person address all the things that caused him to harbor ill feelings toward others. The person is expected to show his willingness to forgive and forget the misdeeds that had driven him to resent other people.

“Dear God, I implore you to get rid of the anger that has taken control of my life. Make me realize that the wrongdoings of other people, whether they are real or only imagined by me, can negatively impact my life and may also cause my spiritual death. 

Show me that my resentment for others will not bring me anything good. Instead, I should understand that the people who mistreated me are spiritually sick. With Your love and guidance, help me, Lord, to show patience, pity, and compassion to those people who have hurt my feelings, the same way that I show compassion to a sick friend.

Make me see that the people who wronged me are sick, and just like me, they also need to be saved from hate and bitterness. Instead of choosing to retaliate, make me Your instrument to help these people. Make me more kind and tolerant of the actions of other people. Thy Will be done, oh Lord.”

Freedom from Bondage Prayer

In the resentment prayer, it is important to acknowledge that the feeling of anger and hate is not the work of God but the work of the enemy, who finds every opportunity to attack us spiritually. In the Freedom from Bondage Prayer, we ask for God’s mercy to free us from the bonds of resentment that make us susceptible to manipulations of evil. 

“Heavenly Father, I come to You in this time of need that I may be released from bondage made by the enemy. Grant me and my loved ones, oh Lord, the strength to break free of the chains that confine us to hate one another.

Through the body and blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior, I implore You to cancel all the controls of darkness in our lives. Take away the grounds that we may have freely given the enemy during the times when we were so easily deceived because of hatred. Amen.”

7 Powerful Resentment Prayers

Letting Go of Resentment Prayer

“Our Lord in Heaven, please help me regain control of my life, which has been taken by resentment. Make me understand that keeping hate will only cause further sorrow in my life and that I should learn to forgive the people who treated me badly. Give me Your blessing to fight the darkness in me so that I may be able to let go of resentment and find peace in my heart.”

Prayer to Overcome Bitterness and Resentment

“Father, help me in this time of weakness so that I may be able to battle the resentment that resided within me. Let Your undying love and compassion for us be an example of how I should overcome bitterness and choose to forgive the people who have hurt me. Through Your son, Jesus Christ, bless my heart to become more understanding of other people’s feelings and never to bear ill wishes against others.”

Prayer to be Free from Anger and Resentment

“Dear God, I ask for Your mercy to free me from the hate that is pushing me to hurt other people. I can no longer live with the anger and resentment that prevent me from showing love to my friends, family, and neighbors. Give me the strength to forgive other people, even though the people who mistreated me have yet to ask for my forgiveness. What matters to me now, oh Lord, is freedom from anger.”

Prayer to Release Resentment

“Lord God, You have taught us to show forgiveness, even to our enemies who wished us nothing but harm. Help me to release resentment and hate and replace them with mercy and compassion as I build new relationships with other people. I am aware that I cannot truly be happy with myself choosing to resent people who mistreat me. Through Your love, I know that I can let go of resentment and focus on the love being given to me.”

Overcoming Resentment Prayer

“Dear God, I am unable to overcome resentment that has already taken control of my life. Show me how to forgive other people during times when I feel that I am unfairly treated. I know that hate has no place in my life so I ask for Your guidance on how to manage my frustrations.”

Prayer to Control Your Temper and Frustration

“Heavenly Father, I ask for Your guidance on how to control my temper and frustration in times when the situation has made me feel uncomfortable. Remind me that showing love and kindness should be my priority and that I should treat people with respect all the time, even if they refuse to show me the same.”

Prayer When You Feel Righteously Angry at Injustice

“Lord God, I ask for Your guidance on how to express my feelings best when I witness injustice being committed against me and others. Make me understand that those people who chose to hurt me are the same people who need spiritual help.”

How to Gain Freedom From Resentment?

Explore the Feelings Behind Your Resentment

We cannot tell how much a certain action has affected us, not unless we confront it. People with resentment towards others have their own stories to tell, like why they choose to live with anger instead of showing compassion. Still, we need to pinpoint the root cause of resentment to properly evaluate what needs to be done. 

Express Compassion

If we accept the truth that people who mistreated us are the ones who need help, then it should be easy for us to show compassion. We must learn to understand the motives behind people’s actions. Also, keep in mind that the people who wronged us lack spiritual guidance. Therefore, we should be more compassionate and pray that these people find the love and guidance that they need.

Focus on Gratitude

Instead of focusing on the negative side of things, one way to let go of resentment is to focus on the blessings that you received. Sometimes we take for granted our personal joys and accomplishments that we forget about the things that we should be thankful for. 

Pray for the Person

Forgiving the people who wronged us is the first step in letting go of resentment. However, it might be difficult for someone who endured so much pain because of other people to wish them well truly.

It is even more difficult to pray for people who caused us pain but never asked for our forgiveness. By asking for God’s grace, we can have the strength to not only forgive them but also to care for them through prayer.

Conclusion

If we want to heal from our emotional wounds, we should not allow anger and hatred to linger in our hearts. Resentment prayer can help us get reinforcement from God Himself to get rid of the negative feelings caused by other people. If we can’t forgive ourselves, we must pray to God for the strength to become more gracious and understanding.