Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
Marriage is a beautiful gift. However, even if you have the best of intentions, both of you will eventually fall short. Your husband will fall short, just as any human does, and he will need to ask for your forgiveness. If you’re struggling to forgive your husband you should always pray to forgive your husband.
Although forgiving your husband can be difficult, we are lucky to have a good good Father who always forgives our transgressions.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13, NIV).
The story of the prodigal son shows us the type of mercy we should have for others. The younger son in this parable asked his father for half of his inheritance so he could run away. He basically told his father he wished he was dead so he could go party.
After he’s squandered his inheritance he returns home hoping that he can at least be a servant for his father. He humbles himself and asks for forgiveness:
“‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate” (Luke 11:21-24, NIV).
The father in this story represents how our heavenly Father readily forgives us when we ask. We must have this same desire to be merciful when our husbands ask for forgiveness!
I have given you 6 prayers for forgiving your husband, but feel free to customize them to your specific situation. Please leave prayer requests in the comments so we can pray with you!
Short Prayer For Forgiving Your Husband
Lord, please soften my heart so that I can forgive my husband. I am angry and hurt by his (actions/words). I’m sad that the man I love has treated me this way, but I know I haven’t been a perfect wife either. Help me to forgive just as he forgives me.
You always forgive us even though we don’t deserve it. Help me to remember this as I work to forgive my husband. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer To Forgive Your Husband For Cheating
Lord, please help me to forgive my husband who cheated on me. He deeply betrayed me and embarrassed me. I feel like a fool. I thought we made promises to each other on our wedding day. We said that we’d love each other through sickness and in health in good times and in bad.
I don’t know what happened. I don’t know where I went wrong. I must have been a terrible wife for him to cheat on me. He says he’s changed and that he doesn’t love her. He says he’s committed to me. I don’t know if I believe him though.
I don’t know how I can move past this. It will be forever looming over our heads. I need to forgive him with all my heart, but I really need your help to do this. I sin over and over again and you always forgive me. I know you have forgiven my husband’s transgressions so please help me to do the same.
Help me to remember that I’m not perfect either. I haven’t been a perfect wife. I have fallen short too, just in different ways. I love my husband. I want to make this work. I’m just frustrated because I’ve continued to choose him every day, despite the difficult things that have happened in our lives.
I feel like our marriage is a sham. I feel so cheap and worthless now. I don’t know how I can ever be intimate with him again after knowing that he’s been with someone else. Lord mold my heart to look more like yours so that I can forgive him and we can move past this stronger than ever before. I trust you. Help me to surrender and give this all over to you. In Your Name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer To Forgive Your Husband For Lying
Lord, please help me to forgive my husband for lying to me. He has been continuously lying to me and I’m not sure why. I’ve repeatedly caught him in the act and still more lies are coming. I don’t understand where this is coming from or why he’s doing this.
I don’t feel like I can trust him, but for our marriage to move on I know that I must forgive him. Please soften my heart and allow me to forgive him, just as you forgive me when I sin.
I want to freely forgive him and love him and move past all the lies. Please change his heart so that he will stop lying. We need to move forward as a couple. Help him to know that he can always be truly open with me. Please bless and protect our marriage as we work through this. In Your name, I pray. Amen.
Prayer To Forgive An Abusive Husband
Lord, I come to you completely humbled and broken. My husband has been abusive and I am trying to forgive him. I want to forgive him, but he hurt me so, so much with all the pain from the (emotional/physical) abuse.
For years I wondered what I did to deserve all this abuse. I pushed it down. I thought I was doing something wrong, but I know I don’t deserve that abuse. Now he wants to change and I’m scared because I don’t know if I can believe him. He says he won’t do it again, so for our children, I must move on. I must forgive him.
I do love him. Please help us to remember the love that we first shared. Please help us to love each other completely. Please help us to respect each other and when disagreements arise, that we can talk peacefully and forgive one another.
Even if there is no future for my husband, I still want to forgive him and let go of the hurt. I ask for a chance to move on for the sake of my children and I hope my husband finds a way to change if not for me then for You and for himself.
Lord, I cannot forgive without your help. He has made huge transgressions, and I know that I need all of your strength and your courage to put this in the past. Please help his heart to truly be sorry so that he truly will stop being abusive. I trust in You and I know you will protect me. In Your Name, I pray, Amen.
Prayer To Forgive Your Husband For Harsh Words
Lord, my husband and I got into an argument last night and harsh words were exchanged. I know I need to ask for forgiveness, but I also need to forgive. I’m in a lot of pain by the words that he used. I can’t believe that the man I love used words like that against me.
I know I said things that I regret too, so I need to ask You and my husband for forgiveness. Lord, please forgive me. Help me to use the strength and grace from You to forgive my husband.
Help us to remember our marriage vows, “in sickness and in health and better for worse.” Help us to easily and lovingly forgive one another just as you forgive us. We are committed to our marriage and are willing to keep working towards holiness together. Thank you, Lord, for your everlasting mercy. In Your name, I pray, amen.
Prayer For The Strength To Forgive Your Husband
Lord, lately I have been clinging to the Bible verse, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV). I’m struggling to forgive my husband, and I really need your strength to do this.
I was deeply hurt by him and I’m having trouble moving on. I’m so resentful and angry, and I’m holding it all inside of me and I just want to rip in scream, and yell. But my husband doesn’t deserve that. He does deserve to be forgiven.
I can’t stoop down to a level where he feels pain to just because he hurt me. That’s not how you love others. I want to love the way that you love. And you always forgive even when we do the worst of things.
Lord, You are so unbelievably merciful. I want to mimic that mercy. Please help me to surrender my selfish desires and submit to Your will. Penetrate my heart and give me the strength to forgive my husband, to win over the feelings of jealousy and anger. In Your name I pray, amen.
Concluding Thoughts
Forgiving others is hard. It’s hard to let go of something when we’ve been hurt or wronged. Forgiving your husband is especially difficult because you hope that they wouldn’t do anything that requires you to forgive them in the first place.
We’re silly to think this because we’re human. We all fall short. If we put the pressure on our spouse to always be perfect they’re always going to fall short. That’s why we need to have our eyes set on the Lord. When our husbands fall short and need forgiveness we can look to the Lord to give us the strength and the courage to forgive him.
If you’re struggling to forgive your husband, remember that the Lord always forgives us, even when we don’t deserve it.