Love Poem: Prayer For My Offender
Juliet Ligon Avatar
Written by: Juliet Ligon

Prayer For My Offender

Let my offender have full remorse
as he watches 
his own daughter grow.
Let her never know
what he did to me.

Let sorrow
pierce his heart like an arrow.
Let the Lord soothe the wound
and chasten him with the scar.

Let repentance pour out.
Let forgiveness overflow.

Let his heart be humble
to learn the fullness of
a father's love.
Lord, lift his sin burden
like a raven in flight,
then let a dove descend.

Let him protect his daughter
from the man he once was.
Let him not live in fear
of her violation
by his or another's hands.
Let her purity be preserved.

Let his wickedness 
be ravished 
by mercy and truth.*
Let his heart not regard
the sins of his youth.*

Let him receive forgiveness plenty,
just as God, for Christ's sake
has forgiven me,*
and I reap the blessings.
Let him be blessed, too.*

Let innocence be restored,
and let us esteem
the name of the Lord.

Let my offender praise purity 
and be a passionate advocate
for the vulnerable and abused.

Let his wife be blessed
by his new life.
If he chooses to confess,
let her forgive
and have a heart of
compassion and trust,
discarding anger and disgust.

Let repentance pour out.
Let forgiveness overflow.

Let the cycle of sin discontinue.

Let their intimacy be
exceedingly better than
what he sought wrongfully.

Let him wonder
how the offended was affected.
Let him pray that she will fully forgive,
not harboring any hint of bitterness.

Give him peace, knowing
that by God's grace, 
their wounds will heal.*

*Proverbs 6:6

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: 
and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

*Psalm 25:7

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.

*Ephesians 4:32

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

*Luke 6:28

Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

*Psalm 147:3

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

12/7/19