Last Updated on October 19, 2023 by Emma
Been treated unfairly at work? Wanting to pray about it, but not sure what to say? Keep reading because these prayers are for you to use right now.
No one wants to be treated unfairly, at work or anywhere else. No one enjoys it when it happens either.
Unfortunately, it does happen because we live in a world with fallen humanity. We live and work and have our being with other human beings who are hurting or insecure or wounded. They lash out or take their pain out on other people, including you.
When it happens it doesn’t seem right, and it’s not.
It doesn’t matter if it happens in private or during a public morning meeting, we raise questions like: “Why is this happening to me?” Or, “How come this person is treating me this way, I didn’t do anything to them?” And cliche as it may be, we have come to grips with the reality that sometimes life is indeed unfair.
We can obtain some measure of understanding when we realize that only God can truly be fair. Only God has the ability to do and act in fairness:
“Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of his making” (Proverbs 16.11, NIV).
In dealing with unfair treatment at work in my own life, I wrestled with this understanding. Didn’t I deserve to be treated better because of who I am? Why couldn’t God do something?
Then I realized that God was at work and all times. Starting with the job interview to the team building events and at the last minute of the last day, God is always with you at work. While I, or you, do not have to accept abuse or harassment in any form, being treated unfairly doesn’t have to be as much of a burden as it possibly could be.
As I prayed about the situation, I came to accept, and be strengthened by, this truth: “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6.10, NIV).
I wasn’t really working for my boss, or with my colleagues. Ultimately, I was working for God. So, dealing with unfair treatment at work was a way of loving God and growing in my relationship with God.
It was not easy, nor was it an experience I went searching for–it happened. How I dealt with being treated unfairly determined how the outcome would happen. I chose to use prayer.
These four prayers are offered to you in the same spirit. I’m sorry you have been treated with disrespect, or ignored, or have not been listened to in your workplace. Please use the prayers below to help yourself. As you pray, let Holy Spirit bring up your emotions to get them out in the open.
You are welcome to modify each prayer as you need to for your specific circumstance you are dealing with at work. You may find other prayer requests come to mind. If so, we invite you to share them in the comments section at the end of this article.
A Short Prayer for Unfair Treatment at Work
God in heaven, I need you right now! I was treated unfairly at work today and I’m so upset about it, I can barely think! Please give me your peace in this moment so I can calm down and think clearly.
I don’t know what to do about what happened so I need guidance as to who to talk to and how to handle this. Lord, I pray this prayer in the strong name and power of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer for Unfair Boss at Work
God, my boss is being unfair to me at my job. He plays favorites and apparently, I’m not one of the favorites. I work with two other people in my section. He always gives them the quick and easy tasks to do, while I get stuck with the long and tedious jobs.
I’ve tried to meet with him and talk it over with him. I’ve attempted to show how production suffers as a result. I’ve explained my dissatisfaction with the situation. All I get from him is, “Don’t worry about what others are doing; just do your job.”
It’s so frustrating, Lord! I need this job and the income it provides, but it’s hard to go into work each day. I don’t know what else to do. Please help me, God.
I don’t know what is going on with (name of boss), but I can’t seem to get through to him. As much as I don’t like him, I pray to you about him. Work in his mind and heart, Lord. Open his eyes to the reality of what is happening right in front of him. Grant him empathy and compassion.
I pray this prayer in the name of the One who is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, my Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer for Unfair Colleague at Work
Lord Jesus, my co-worker is being unfair to me and to others. It seems like every day she finds some way to take more than she gives. And our boss doesn’t even notice. Or if he does notice, he doesn’t care. I’m so upset right now Lord!
(Co-worker’s name) seems nice enough but she finds some way to take advantage of me and of others in our department. We don’t have that many people in our area so what she does (or doesn’t do) has an immediate affect on everyone.
Whether it’s undermining others’ roles, or taking credit for work she didn’t do, (name) is being unfair on a fairly regular basis. If it was a one-time thing or something, I wouldn’t be this frustrated, Lord, but it’s not. This keeps happening on a weekly basis.
God, I don’t know how to proceed. If I continue to say nothing about it, I think her behavior is only going to continue to happen. But if I do bring it up with her or with others who are affected, I’m afraid I’ll get tagged with being a complainer.
Jesus, please help me! I don’t like what I’m experiencing. I pray for (co-worker’s name), for her to listen, to wake up–for something to happen inside her to show her what she’s doing. I like my work and I don’t want this to blow up into something huge, but I just don’t know what steps I need to take.
I pray to you, Lord God, for guidance and wisdom and patience and strength. I know I can’t handle this on my own so I turn to you, my Rock and Salvation, the Author and Finisher of my faith, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Prayer for Unfair Employee at Work
Father in heaven, I have a problem at work and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’ve got an employee in my section that is acting unreasonable. He’s being unfair to his co-workers but I’ve only been able to get whispers about what he’s doing.
I can’t proceed without something actionable. While I believe he is, in fact, doing things that are unfair to everyone else in our section, I don’t have anything tangible to talk with him about in a meeting.
Lord, this feels odd for me to ask this, but I need to catch him in the act, so to speak, of being unfair. His co-workers have all complained to me about this or that thing he does that’s unfair. But because it’s their word against his, I’m at a loss to do much.
I like (name) okay and he generally does good work. But Lord, as the boss I feel I have a responsibility to ensure the workplace I oversee is one where people are treated fairly and with respect. I don’t want his unfair treatment of others to infect this section.
God, please guide me into what my next steps might be. Even as I deal with how (name) is treating others unfairly, I want to treat him fairly, just to set the tone and example.
O Lord, hear my prayer, in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.
Final Thoughts
For those who work in a job of any setting, we want to do good work and be treated fairly. When unreasonable behavior happens and we get treated unfairly, it can hurt. It can be frustrating too, especially when it continues and we’re waiting for it to be resolved.
It can be tempting to try and figure out why you’re being treated unfairly at work but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter why. Whether your boss is having a hard day or is a narcissist isn’t important.
Instead, we can rest in the fact that God is watching over us and taking care of us in ways we may not see:
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him” (Isaiah 30.18, NIV).
We do not have to be doormats and allow anyone at work to walk all over us, by any means. Nor do we need to allow harassment or abuse to occur. What we can do, in the face of unfair treatment at work, is speak up and pray out. These four prayers are written for just that purpose.
Let these prayers bring your strength from within. Be reminded that when we walk with God, we walk with justice and mercy. Stand in this biblical reality:
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6.8, NIV).
Whether you personally need these four strengthening prayers for unfair treatment at work, or whether you are using them for a friend, share them! And as you pray them, allow your own prayer requests to be heard by writing them down below in the comments section.
Let us all be reminded, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3.8, NIV).