Can prayer truly heal a relationship that feels beyond repair?
Can prayer truly heal a relationship that feels beyond repair?
Perhaps there is someone in your life you can no longer speak to.
Someone who hurt you deeply.
Someone you tried to forgive—but could not.
For many years, Donna lived with fear, anger, and emotional pain caused by a broken marriage.
Her husband suffered from depression, became increasingly angry, and eventually turned violent. When the violence reached their daughter, Donna knew she had to leave.
Even after the divorce, however, the suffering did not end.
For nearly ten years, she lived under intense stress. Eventually, all communication between them stopped. When she later tried to repair the relationship, her former husband told her never to contact him again.
The relationship seemed completely beyond repair.
Then Donna encountered a different understanding of love.
What if forgiveness is not weakness?
The teachings of Ryuho Okawa explain that forgiveness is not merely a kind thought or a beautiful ideal.
It is a real spiritual power.
When we continue to hold anger, resentment, or judgment toward another person, those feelings remain within our own hearts.
We may believe the other person is the cause of our suffering. Yet resentment can continue to bind us to the pain long after the relationship itself has ended.
Donna began to ask herself a different question:
“What can I change within my own heart?”
She reflected on the negative thoughts she had held toward her former husband.
She began to see him not only as someone who had hurt her, but also as a child of God—a soul who, like herself, was still learning and growing.
This did not mean denying what had happened.
It meant refusing to allow the pain to control the rest of her life.
Love begins with giving
In From Love to Prayer, Ryuho Okawa teaches:
Love is for giving, not for being given.
True love does not begin by asking:
“Why didn’t this person love me?”
“Why didn’t they understand me?”
“Why should I forgive first?”
It begins with a different decision:
“I will be the first to give love.”
Donna began to pray for peace and reconciliation.
During meditation, she spoke to her former husband’s soul. She prayed for his happiness, for healing, and for harmony between their families.
She did not pray in order to control him.
She did not demand that he apologize.
She simply sent love without expecting anything in return.
A small opening of light
One night, Donna had a dream.
She was standing in the upstairs hallway of her former husband’s home. The hallway was completely blocked by boxes and blankets. There was no way forward.
Then, suddenly, a small opening appeared between the boxes.
A bright beam of light shone through.
Donna felt that the dream represented a small opening of light within her former husband’s heart—an opening created through reflection, forgiveness, and prayer.
Not long afterward, both sides of the family attended a celebration for their daughter’s upcoming wedding.
Donna was terrified.
She had not spoken to her former husband for years.
But then something unexpected happened.
He walked up to her and began speaking to her.
Donna did not have to force the conversation.
She did not have to persuade him.
He approached her himself.
Their daughter was able to celebrate her wedding without conflict between the two families.
Today, they are able to gather together for family celebrations without hostility or resentment.
For Donna, this was a miracle.
Love is the egg of happiness
From Love to Prayer compares love to an egg from which happiness is born.
If we want happiness to appear, we must first create an “egg of love.”
That may mean:
Forgiving someone in your heart.
Praying for someone who has hurt you.
Choosing not to speak negatively about them.
Wishing for their spiritual growth.
Offering kindness without demanding a reward.
The other person may not change immediately.
But the first miracle may happen within you.
Your heart becomes lighter.
Your past begins to look different.
The person who once appeared only as a source of suffering may become someone who helped your soul grow stronger, wiser, and more compassionate.
A question for today
Is there someone you still cannot forgive?
You do not have to deny what happened.
You do not have to return to an unsafe relationship.
But perhaps you can begin with one quiet prayer:
“May this person also find peace.
May I release the pain within my heart.
May love open a small window of light between us.”
Love begins with giving.
Prayer gives that love spiritual power.
And even when a relationship appears completely closed, a small opening of light may still appear.
Discover the spiritual power of love and prayer
From Love to Prayer offers prayers and teachings on love, sorrow, forgiveness, success, and eternal life.
It is an invitation to move from seeking love to giving love—and to discover how prayer can transform the way we see ourselves, others, and the difficulties of life.
