Father God,

Today, I pray against the scars of life, not the physical ones, but the deeper and more tender ones of the heart. I pray against the emotional memories which cannot always be put into words, but that arise often when we least expect it. I pray against the continued distress that those scars cause in both the person and in the relationships affected by the scars’ outward effects.

We are embodied souls who not only think and act, but feel and our souls remember pain beyond the cognitive. For those whose memories contain repeated pain of one form or another, they can feel the scars into the bones of their soul.

Grant those those whose lives have marked them with scars would find Your healing just as fully and deeply and lasting as the leper when touched by Christ. Give us victory over those scars, even those which we can’t put into words, that we may rejoice in You and Your blessings poured out upon us.

For those who do not carry the scars, but love those who do, grant them patience and perseverance, as well as wisdom to be Your hands and feet in caring for the scarred of heart.

In Christ’s Name,

Amen