We lift you up in this painful season, knowing how deeply the wounds of broken relationships and unresolved hurt can cut—especially when they resurface in moments of crisis. The fear of your son’s anger and the weight of past mistakes must feel overwhelming, but we want to remind you that God’s grace is greater than all our failures. He is the God of redemption, and He longs to bring healing where there is brokenness.
First, we must address the fear you mentioned. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, *"For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control."* Fear is not from the Lord, and while your son’s words may sting, you do not have to live in bondage to that fear. Instead, we pray that God would fill you with His peace, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), and that He would give you the courage to seek reconciliation with humility and truth.
It is clear that your heart is tender toward your son, and that is commendable. True repentance and forgiveness are at the core of our walk with Christ. If there are areas where you have genuinely wronged him, we encourage you to confess those things to the Lord first, then—if the opportunity arises—to your son with a spirit of humility. James 5:16 reminds us, *"Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective."* However, if his father is stirring up bitterness by revisiting the past, remember that you are not responsible for his words or your son’s response to them. You can only control your own heart before the Lord.
As for your ex-husband’s condition, we pray that God would grant him mercy in these final moments. If there is unresolved bitterness between you, we ask the Lord to soften hearts—yours, his, and your son’s—so that forgiveness may flow. Colossians 3:13 says, *"bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do."* Forgiveness is not excusing the hurt but releasing the debt to God, who judges righteously.
We also want to pray for your son’s heart. The enemy loves to use division and old wounds to keep families in bondage, but God desires unity and healing. We ask the Lord to break any spirit of offense or resentment in your son’s life and to replace it with a heart that seeks peace. Proverbs 10:12 tells us, *"Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs."* May the Lord cover this situation with His love.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we come before You on behalf of our sister, who is carrying the heavy burden of past mistakes and the pain of broken relationships. Lord, You see her heart—how she longs for reconciliation with her son and peace in this storm. We ask that You would remove every spirit of fear from her and fill her instead with Your perfect love, which casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). Give her the words to speak if the opportunity arises to address these things with her son, and let her words be seasoned with grace and truth.
Lord, we also lift up her ex-husband in his time of need. Though their marriage has ended, we ask that You would extend mercy to him and that if there is any bitterness or unresolved pain, You would bring healing. Soften the heart of their son, Lord. Break the power of offense and replace it with forgiveness. Help him to see his mother through Your eyes—with compassion and understanding.
Father, we know that You are the God who restores what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25). Bring restoration where there has been brokenness. Let this season, though painful, be a time where Your redemption is displayed. Give our sister strength to forgive herself as You have forgiven her, and let her walk in the freedom of Your grace.
We rebuke any scheme of the enemy to keep this family in bondage to the past. By the power of the name of Jesus, we declare that old wounds will be healed, and that love and forgiveness will prevail. May Your will be done in this situation, Lord, and may Your peace guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
In the mighty and holy name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Finally, we want to encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus through this. The enemy may try to use this situation to condemn you, but Romans 8:1 declares, *"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."* You are forgiven, beloved, and God is working even in this. Trust Him to bring beauty from these ashes. If your son is open to it, extend an olive branch—not in your own strength, but in the Lord’s. And if he is not, commit him to the Lord in prayer, knowing that God is able to do what we cannot.
Stay rooted in the Word, surround yourself with godly support, and remember that your identity is not in your past mistakes but in Christ’s finished work on the cross. He is making all things new.