The short answer
A prayer for protection asks God to keep the people and places you love from harm, and to keep your heart from fear. The Bible’s best-known prayer for protection is Psalm 91, which begins: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1). The seven prayers below are for family, children, home, travel and the fears in between.
A short prayer for protection
Pray this as you leave the house, or whenever you feel uneasy.
Lord, you are my refuge. Keep me and the people I love safe today, in body, mind and heart. Guard our going out and our coming in. When I’m afraid, remind me that you are near. Amen.
A prayer for family protection
Psalm 121 was sung by pilgrims setting out on the long road to Jerusalem, and it ends with a promise that covers every trip out the door and back: “The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.” (Psalm 121:8).
Father, I bring you my family. You know where each of us will be today. Keep us safe on the roads, at work, at school and at home. Protect us from accidents, from illness and from anyone who would do us harm. Keep us close to each other and to you, and bring us home again. Amen.
A prayer of protection for your children
Every parent knows the fear of not being able to protect a child from everything. Psalm 127 says God is the one who really keeps watch: “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.” (Psalm 127:1).
Lord, these children are yours before they are mine. Watch over them when I can’t. Protect their bodies, their minds and their hearts. Keep them from people who would hurt them, and from choices that would harm them. Give them friends who are kind, and let them know they are loved, by me and by you. Amen.
A prayer for your home
Jerusalem sits among hills, and a psalm uses them as a picture of God’s care: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people from this time forward and forever more.” (Psalm 125:2).
Lord, thank you for this home. Surround it the way the mountains surround Jerusalem. Watch over it day and night. Protect it from fire, flood and break-ins, and from anger and bitterness inside its walls. Let everyone who comes through the door find peace here. Amen.
A prayer for safe travel
Whether it’s a daily commute or a flight across the world, travel puts us in places we can’t control. Isaiah wrote to exiles facing a long road home: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.” (Isaiah 43:2).
Lord, go with me on this trip. Keep me safe on the road and in the air. Give the drivers and pilots around me clear minds and steady hands. Protect the people I’m leaving and the people I’m going to see. Bring me there in peace, and home again safely. Amen.
A prayer when you’re afraid
Sometimes the danger is real, and sometimes it’s the fear itself that won’t let go. Psalm 91 speaks to both: “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:5).
God, I’m afraid, and I can’t shake it. You are my refuge and my fortress. Cover me with your wings, as the psalm promises. Guard my mind from what-ifs and my heart from panic. If I’m in real danger, show me what to do and send help. Amen.
If you are in danger right now, call your local emergency number before anything else.
A prayer for protection from evil
The New Testament is honest that some of the threats we face can’t be seen. Paul wrote that “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12), and he promised: “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
Lord, you are stronger than anything that comes against me. Guard me from the evil one, and from the evil in my own heart. Keep me from lies, from temptation and from despair. Clothe me in your armor today, and let nothing separate me from your love. Amen.
Jesus taught his followers to pray to be delivered from evil (Matthew 6:13). For more on the armor Paul describes, see our guide to the armor of God.
Does God promise to protect us?
The Bible promises God’s protection again and again, but it never promises a life without harm. The same Paul who trusted God to guard him was shipwrecked three times. What it does promise is that nothing can take us out of God’s hands: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38–39).
Our guide to Psalm 91 looks more closely at what its promises do and don’t mean.
A blessing of protection
God gave Aaron and his sons, the priests, a blessing to speak over Israel. It is still said in churches and synagogues today:
“The LORD bless you, and keep you. The LORD make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. The LORD lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26).
In 1979, archaeologists digging in burial caves at Ketef Hinnom, just outside Jerusalem’s Old City, found two tiny rolled-up silver scrolls, made to be worn as charms. When they were finally unrolled and read, they held a version of this blessing. They date from around 600 BC, which makes them the oldest known copies of any words from the Bible.
Many parents still say it over their children at bedtime, with a hand on each head.
Common questions
What is the most powerful prayer for protection?
Psalm 91 is the prayer most people turn to, but no prayer is a lucky charm. The Bible’s prayers for protection have power because of who they’re prayed to: “The LORD’s name is a strong tower: the righteous run to him, and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10).
How do I pray for protection over my family?
Pray for each person by name, and be specific: the drive to school, the night shift, the friend you’re worried about. Psalm 121 is a good psalm to pray over a family, putting their names where it says you.
Can I pray Psalm 91 for someone else?
Yes. Psalm 91 moves between I and you, and many people pray it over others by putting their names into it: “For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11).
What does the Bible say about protection from evil?
It says God is stronger than evil and guards the people who belong to him: “The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul.” (Psalm 121:7). It also asks us to stand against evil ourselves, by putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11) and praying to be delivered from it.