Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
Do you have a relationship you want to be restored, healed, or reconciled? Are you searching for a way to pray about a broken relationship?
These 14 prayers for restoring or reconciling a relationship can help. The prayers cover a spectrum of situations and relationships, so you can choose the prayer that’s best for your situation. You are welcome to alter the wording of the prayer to suit your circumstances as well.
Think of these prayers for relationships as starting points, as you seek to heal a broken relationship, or bring reconciliation with the other person. Since the root Latin meaning of reconcile means to make good again, or to repair, it is clear that restoring a relationship will take time.
At the heart of any relationship, there has to be love, as the Apostle Peter reminds us:
“Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4.7-8, NIV).
Whether it’s the love we have for family members or the different kind of love we have for friends or co-workers, relationships are built, and reconciled and healed, through love, kindness, grace, and forgiveness.
Jesus gave us the command (not a suggestion) to love one another. That puts the responsibility on each of us to make relationships healthy and good and positive.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13.34-35, NIV).
As you pray about your relationships, you bring God into the midst of those relationships, which means you are not doing this alone. You have the Almighty walking with you, guiding you, loving you as you seek to love those people in your life.
Prayer For a Broken Relationship With a Parent
Lord God, I pray to you now about my broken relationship with my mother. We haven’t spoken in months. At this point I can’t even put my finger on what broke our relationship but I know it was more than just one thing.
I think she should be the one to take the first step but I don’t believe she will. I feel like it’s more her fault than mine but my pastor told me there’s always two people at fault in this type of scenario. Even if it’s 99% her fault, I still have that 1% that’s mine.
It doesn’t really matter at this point, I guess, Lord. I just want my mom back and for us to have some type of decent connection to each other. Help me to see my part in this brokenness. Help me to own my part of this mess. Help me to forgive my mother and forgive myself.
I don’t know how to go about moving forward so I pray for guidance and strength and peace. I pray all of this in the loving name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer For a Broken Relationship With a Spouse
God, I need help! My relationship with my spouse is broken. I don’t mean we’re just having a little fight and are nursing our hurt feelings. I mean the relationship is broken and I pray it’s not completely obliterated.
We’re both at fault and we both know it. I did things to tear down the relationship and bond we have and so did she. But now, in the aftermath of all of our actions, I know, deep down, I still love her. I just don’t know what to do to build back what we once had–a great relationship.
I think this is going to take a long time but I want to move that way. Help us both to see how damaging our actions have been. Help the two of us to be able to talk to one another without accusing each other. I hope and pray for forgiveness and healing in the midst of this broken shell of a marriage. I don’t want us to end and I don’t want us to end in this way.
Help me Lord to take the right steps and say the right things. Help me to admit my sins and humble myself in your presence. I pray this in the loving name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer For a Broken Relationship With a Child
Dear Lord, I don’t know what to do, but I fear that I have forever damaged my relationship with my son. We got into an argument last night and we said a lot of mean things to one another. He is of age so he’s not a little kid anymore, but I’m still his father.
I feel horrible about how things happened and all that was said. I don’t even know if he will take my call at this point. Right now, I think I need to let us both cool down a bit before I try to contact him, but I’m not even sure about that. I’m not too sure about what to do, but I know I don’t want to leave things as they are–an open emotional wound.
I’m praying for clarity of thinking and calmness of emotions. As the parent I believe I need to make the first step, but I don’t know exactly what this is or how to go about it. Help me to have the words to say and help him to be able to listen and hear me. And help me to hear him. We’re both hurting right now.
I don’t want to lose my son over some stupid argument. Help us to patch up this broken relationship, Lord. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Prayer To Reconcile a Relationship With a Girlfriend
Dear Jesus, will you help me reconcile with my girlfriend? We’ve been together for almost a year and a half and we really enjoy one another. I think we actually love each other. However, we are now broken up and it’s my fault.
I was at a social gathering and was chatting with another woman. I was really enjoying the conversation with her and gave her a hug as we parted ways. Well, my girlfriend saw all of this from across the room and she felt betrayed and disrespected. I told her nothing happened and it was just a conversation, but now that I have had time to think about it, I can see that I was moving towards being attracted to this other woman.
I can see why my girlfriend is upset and I don’t want to lose our relationship over this. Help me to dig down into why the attention of another woman was so appealing to me, when I have a great girlfriend already. I desperately need clear thinking and guidance here, Lord.
Help me to reconcile with my girlfriend. I ask this in your powerful name, Amen.
Prayer To Reconcile a Relationship With a Boyfriend
O God, what have I done?! I think I’ve ruined my relationship with my boyfriend! I went on a spring break trip last week and went to several parties with my friends while I was away. At one of the parties I was having a good time and danced with a new guy I met. We actually danced quite a bit.
Photos of us dancing together ended up on social media and my boyfriend saw them. He was crushed and I felt terrible. I wasn’t even thinking of how it would look to him–I was just having fun. I feel so horrible right now. I love my boyfriend but I clearly wasn’t thinking much of him when I decided to dance with a guy I’d just met.
I’ve broken his trust and I don’t want to lose him over this. Help me to earn his trust back and build back our relationship. I want to reconcile with him, but he’s not talking to me right now because he’s so hurt. I can understand that so I pray for a patient reconciliation. I made a bad mistake and need to fix it, but I’m not sure how.
Please help me to heal my relationship with my boyfriend. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Prayer For Relationship Help With a Co-Worker
Lord, I come to you in prayer about my co-worker. We seem to be at cross purposes with each other several times a week. I don’t know what the problem is. Maybe it’s that we seem to be so different. I can’t just ignore her or work around her because we are paired up on the same team and have to work together on nearly every project.
I want to try and understand who she is and where she’s coming from so I can know how to proceed. Can you help me to have a conversation with her that is civil? Will you help me to ask the right questions, in the right tone, so we both can learn about each other? I don’t want to bring our boss into it because I don’t think that’s the best option at the moment.
I want to be able to work with her and enjoy my job. Please guide me in the proper direction. In your name I pray, Amen.
Prayer For Relationship Help With a Neighbor
Lord God, I need help with my neighbor. He seems to try and find ways to annoy me over the last several weeks. I don’t know if I’m just being really picky or stubborn, or if he is really just that much of a jerk, but this can’t go on.
I have to live next door to this guy and we need to have a civil relationship, at the very least. Help me to be able to talk with him about what’s going on so we both can arrive at some understanding. Perhaps there are things I’m doing that annoy him and I don’t even know about it. Whatever it is, I am asking for your help with my neighbor.
I pray this in the wisdom and mercy of Christ, Amen.
Prayer To Heal Relationship With Mother-in-Law
Lord Jesus, my relationship with my mother-in-law needs healing. She has told me that she never wants to have me over to her home again. But I don’t know the reason for this because she wouldn’t tell me. “If I have to tell you why then you’ll never get it,” she told me.
I don’t know how to fix an unknown mystery. My wife can’t even get her mom to tell her what my supposed offense was. I actually like my wife’s mother and have enjoyed spending time with her, so this sudden banishment has taken me by surprise and left me bewildered, Lord.
Help me to find out whatever it is that I apparently have done to offend her. Help me to heal my relationship with my mother-in-law, somehow. I pray this in your holy name, Amen.
Prayer To Heal Relationship With Father-in-Law
God, I don’t like my father-in-law right now and I don’t want to speak with him. He came over to the house last week and for some reason that I don’t know, proceeded rant and rave about what a bad wife I was to his son. He made a lot of sexist remarks and berated me for half an hour or more. I finally had to scream at him to shut up and leave.
I have no idea what set his rant off. I realize I may have blind spots that I am not aware of, but his tirade didn’t come across as addressing that. It was more he was upset about something and he decided to take it out on me. He said some very hurtful things to me and now I don’t really trust him much.
My husband has tried to be an intermediary and try to find out what set his dad off, but he’s not had much luck. I want to have a good relationship with my husband’s dad and want him involved in our life, but not like this. I want healing in our relationship but I’m not sure what to do, or how to proceed.
Please heal this relationship with my father-in-law. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Prayer To Heal Relationship With My Boss
Dear God in heaven, I need to heal my relationship with my boss. We had a disagreement where I really thought I was right and he didn’t seem to be listening, so I raised my voice and shouted a lot of things. It didn’t end well.
I’m grateful I didn’t get fired on the spot. I disrespected him and his position. I need to apologize but I can’t get over the shame I feel right now. Please help me to go in today and face him with humility. I pray he will listen to all that I have to say because I am really sorry.
Help this conversation to go well, so our good working relationship can be healed. I ask this through Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer To Reconcile Relationship With Spouse
Dear God, I have been separated from my husband for a month now and I can see that being apart is not what is best for us. I pray for us to be reconciled. I want to make this relationship good again, whole and loving again. I have not liked this separation at all, but it has helped me to see how much I really do love him.
I hope he feels the same way and that our relationship can be brought back together again. I don’t know how to start the conversation with him, but I know I need to. Help me to see the right time and give me the appropriate words to say when I talk to my husband.
I really want this to work out, Lord, so I pray to you in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer To Reconcile Relationship With a Parent
God, I hope I haven’t broken my relationship with my parents. We had a major blow up last week and we’ve existed in the same house in silence the whole time. We arrange to not be in the same room with each other because of how hurt we all are.
I feel it’s my fault and I need to apologize to them but I’m scared that they won’t even be able to hear me right now. I need to know when it will be the right time. I love them as my mom and dad and don’t want to lose that special bond we have. Help me to reconcile with my parents, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Prayer To Reconcile Relationship With a Child
I can’t believe what I’ve done, God. I yelled, a lot, at my daughter yesterday. She’s a teenager and she did the most stupid thing and I completely lost it. In the midst of my anger outburst, I saw fear in her eyes as I was yelling and it nearly knocked me to the floor emotionally.
I couldn’t believe what I had done as I looked at myself afterwards. I hope and I pray I haven’t completely damaged my relationship with my daughter. She’s at a tender age and I just completely forgot that I’m the parent and I have to be in control of my emotions. I failed as a parent yesterday and I believe it’s up to me to reconcile with her.
I need to ask for forgiveness and apologize to her. Help her wounded heart be able to hear me when I talk with her. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Prayer To Have Better Relationships With Everyone
Lord God, I really want to have better relationships with each person I encounter. Whether they are friends and family, or just random strangers at the store, help me to be a positive influence in their lives. I want to be at peace with myself so I can give out peace to every person.
Enable me to let go of hurts or slights, and accept each person as they are. Help me to be a source of healing and restoration in the relationships I have. Thank you for the relationships you have given me and for the relationship I have with you, through Jesus Christ my Savior, Amen.
Consider This
Bringing about restoration in our relationships can take time and requires many tools. You may want to try the HEAL method, or one of these steps, or even with forgiveness of any kind. Prayer, of course, is the foundation of any repairing or healing of a relationship. And, it’s important to acknowledge our part in any relationship brokenness through confession.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5.16, NIV).
That old saying, “It takes two to tango,” just means that both people have some responsibility in a relationship, whether it is the positive parts, or the negative parts. Restoration, healing, and reconciliation are all words that mean the same thing: making a relationship whole and healthy again.
“Reconciliation and forgiveness can actually help all of us move on in a healthier, happier way.” – Chesa Boudin
May these prayers bring about the healing you seek in your relationships. And may you grow closer to God in the process of praying. We welcome your prayer requests and comments below.