A Prayer For When Your Child Has Been Bullied

A Prayer for When Your Child Has Been Bullied

O God, defender of the suffering,

We are heartbroken as we hold our child’s

Battered heart in our hands.

We cry out against the mistreatment,

Against the lies and the pain inflicted

On their heart and mind, body and soul.

We grieve with them,

For humans, even the youngest among us,

Can be so cruel,

And we weep with them

As they hurt.

Be with us as we put back together

That which was broken.

Be with us in their tears

And in ours, too.

This is not as it should be, Lord—

Cruel comments and the sting of schoolyard bullies.

We know that hurting hearts hurt others,

And yet right now we struggle to find compassion

For the perpetrator of such harm.

Teach us Your ways, O Lord.

Give us space for the emotions to breathe

So our wounds may heal.

God, help us not to return violence of words or actions

With more violence.

Instill in our child their worthiness.

Help us remind them of their belovedness

As our child and Yours.

Help them understand that bullying says much

About the oppressor

And nothing about our child.

Help them see their differences as beautiful,

For they are uniquely and wonderfully made.

Give them safe spaces to play and to learn.

Give them friends who love them as they are.

Give them adults to watch over and intervene when necessary.

Give them comfort and peace.

Provide healing and rest.

And remove every ounce of shame,

Because we know this is not of You.

O Jesus, Man of Sorrows,

We know You understand intimately

What it is to be mocked, maligned, and mistreated.

God, we know deep hurt will not disappear in one day.

And we know that in each of us

Is the propensity to hurt another

And hurt You.

While there is no silver lining to these dark clouds,

May this incident act as a reminder

To be empathetic and compassionate

To those on the margins—

The hurting and the oppressed.

May You forge paths of wholeness

When the time comes for repentance

By those who have done harm.

Move us toward relationship and reconciliation.

And when that is not to be,

May our child know

It is not their fault.

Heal us, O Lord.

We come to You with broken hearts—

Both ours and our child’s.

We know You will hold them

With the tender love of a parent.

Isaiah 53:3; Psalm 9:9; Isaiah 1:17