Part 5 - Praying for the Wounded

Blog Part 5: Praying for the Wounded

Publish Date: Friday, February 14, 2026
Series: Praying for the Lost with Compassion and Clarity

Opening

"They're not rejecting You out of pride or rebellion. They're protecting themselves. Because trusting You feels dangerous when You've felt absent in their darkest moments."

When someone is wounded, it's easy for them to feel like others are intentionally distancing themselves. The pain makes everything feel personal - even when it's not.

And this is exactly what happens with God. When He doesn't come through like they expected, wounded people assume His distance is intentional too.

When they pray and don't get the answer they hoped for. When tragedy strikes and He feels silent. When the people they trusted - especially people who represent Him - betray or abandon them.

God feels distant. And that distance feels intentional.

So they pull back. Not because they hate God, but because trusting Him feels...dangerous.

I've met many people whose wounds keep them from God. A woman whose father abused her and told her God wanted her to submit. A man whose wife died of cancer despite years of faithful prayer. A man who sought God on a mountaintop and all he heard was nature - when what he really needed was assurance.

These aren't people who rejected God out of pride or rebellion. They're people whose pain has convinced them that God is either absent, cruel, or not who He claims to be.

And when I started praying for them, I realized I needed to name this barrier: wounds.

Praying for the Wounded - Example

In Part 1, I shared how I started naming barriers in my prayers rather than just saying "Lord, help them know You in a personal relationship." Now let me show you what that looks like when praying for someone who's wounded:

"Father, they're in so much pain. They've been hurt - deeply, unfairly, sometimes by people who claimed to represent You. And now they can't separate their wounds from who You really are.

When they think of You, they think of the father who abused them. The spouse who abandoned them. The pastor who betrayed them. The prayers You didn't answer the way they begged You to.

They're not rejecting You out of pride or rebellion. They're protecting themselves. Because trusting You feels dangerous when You've felt absent in their darkest moments.

They prayed and You were silent. They cried out and heard nothing. They sought You on a mountaintop and all they heard was nature - when what they really needed was Your voice, Your presence, Your assurance that You were there.

And now they wonder: Are You even real? Do You even care? Or are You just another person who will let them down?

Lord, they don't see that You are close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). They don't know that You keep track of every tear they've cried (Psalm 56:8). They can't see that You specialize in healing wounds they think are too deep to fix.

Break through their pain, Father. Not with arguments or explanations, but with Your gentle presence. Let them encounter Your tenderness in a way that makes them feel safe again. Send someone into their life who can represent You well - someone who won't wound them further.

Heal them, Lord. And help them see that You're not the source of their pain - You're the answer to it."

Biblical Precedent: Naomi

When we think about wounded people, Naomi comes to mind.

She had lost everything. Her husband died. Then both of her sons died. She was left in a foreign land with nothing but grief and two daughters-in-law.

When she finally returned to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred. "Can this be Naomi?" they asked.

Her response was brutally honest: "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me" (Ruth 1:20-21, NIV).

She didn't soften it. She didn't spiritualize her pain. She told the truth: God felt like the source of her suffering, not the solution.

And here's what's remarkable - God didn't rebuke her for that. He didn't strike her down for blaming Him. He didn't demand that she "have more faith" or "choose joy."

Instead, He quietly began to restore her. Through Ruth's faithfulness. Through Boaz's kindness. Through the birth of a grandson who would be in the lineage of King David - and eventually, Jesus Himself.

Naomi's story reminds us that we do not need to explain God's behavior to wounded people or try to prove God didn't mean what they think He meant. God can handle their honesty about their pain. He doesn't need us to defend Him. And sometimes, His healing comes slowly, through ordinary people and everyday faithfulness - not through dramatic interventions.

Why This Matters

So why does it matter that we pray this way for the wounded?

Because when we pray with this kind of compassion, we stop trying to fix their theology and start entering their pain. We recognize that wounded people don't need arguments about God's goodness - they need to experience it.

We also stop feeling like we have to defend God. He can handle their anger, their doubt, their accusation. What wounded people need from us isn't an explanation - it's a safe presence.

When we pray like this, we position ourselves differently. Instead of correcting them or offering platitudes, we start asking: How can I represent God's tenderness to them? What would it look like to be the kind of person who doesn't add to their wounds? How can I create space where they can be honest about their pain without fear of judgment?

Maybe it's sitting with them in silence when they can't find words. Maybe it's acknowledging the depth of their hurt without rushing to "fix" it with Bible verses. Maybe it's simply saying, "I don't know why God allowed this. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Prayer for the wounded isn't just about asking God to heal them. It's about asking God to use us as part of that healing - to make us safe people who reflect His gentleness, creating space for them to be where they are and love them just because they are loved by God already.

Closing

Wounds run deep. And healing doesn't happen on our timeline or through our formulas.

But when we pray for the wounded with compassion - when we name their pain without trying to explain it away - we start to see them the way God does. Not as projects to fix, but as people He pursues with gentleness.

Naomi did experience restoration. Not because someone convinced her God wasn't to blame, but because God quietly showed up in her life through ordinary faithfulness.

That's the kind of prayer that doesn't just move heaven. It positions us to be part of the slow, gentle work of healing that wounded people desperately need.

Next in this series: Part 6 will bring everything together - when prayer meets preparation, and we learn to recognize the moments God is opening doors.

Invitation to the Pilot Devotional - Everyday Evangelism

If you want to go deeper in learning how to engage lost people with confidence and compassion, I've created a 40-day devotional that equips believers to recognize moments of spiritual openness and respond with grace. I'm currently looking for a small group of people to pilot this resource and provide feedback before a wider release - if you're interested in being part of the pilot group, email me at grant.reed@rd2tell.com. The pilot involves 15 minutes of daily reading for 6 weeks, plus one hour of weekly group discussion (virtual is an option).

Author Bio

Grant Reed is the founder of Ready to Tell Ministries and serves as Prayer & Care Director for Marked Men For Christ, a global men's ministry reaching 19,000+ men across 30 countries. He holds an M.Div. and M.A. in Ministry from Southwestern Seminary and is a graduate of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism. Grant is a passionate speaker, teacher, and author focused on bringing others to Christ and equipping believers to share their faith with confidence and compassion.