Prayer for Protection
When you fear for your own safety or for the people you love, the Church gives you words to pray. The prayers below ask God for protection from harm, from evil, from fear, and for the shelter of your home and family. They come from the Catholic and Maronite traditions, with the full texts, so you can pray them exactly as the faithful have prayed them for centuries.
Protection, in Scripture, is never something we manufacture. It is asked from God, who keeps watch over us and sends his angels to guard our ways. That is the confidence every prayer here rests on.
A Simple Prayer for Protection
A short prayer for the start of the day, or for any moment fear takes hold. Pray it slowly, and mean each line.
Lord, be a shield around me and around all I love. Guard us from harm we can see and from harm we cannot. Keep fear from taking root in us, and let your peace stand watch where we are weak. Send your angels to walk with us today, and bring us home safely to you. Amen.
Notice that the prayer asks for God's presence, not only for the absence of danger. The tradition teaches that the deepest protection is not a life without trouble, but God with us in the middle of it.
Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel
The Church's great prayer of protection against evil, composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886 and prayed after Mass for generations. Saint Michael is the prince of the heavenly host, the protector who casts down the enemy.
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
This prayer is prayed for protection from spiritual evil, but also in any moment of real danger. It names our trust plainly: the battle belongs to God, and the victory is already his.
Psalm 91 — The Psalm of Protection
No passage of Scripture is prayed for safety more than Psalm 91. It has been prayed in war, plague, and danger of every kind for three thousand years, and monks pray it every night before sleep.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High,
who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
Because you have made the Lord your refuge,
the Most High your habitation,
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
For he will give his angels charge of you
to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.
"When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
and show him my salvation."
The Psalm's promise is not that trouble will never come. It is that God is a refuge inside the trouble, and that we are never left to face it alone.
Prayer to Your Guardian Angel
The Church teaches that God gives each person an angel to guard them. This little prayer, learned by children and prayed by the old, asks that angel for its protection.
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God's love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
It takes a few seconds to pray and can be said anywhere: leaving the house, before a drive, over a sleeping child. Its brevity is part of its strength.
A Prayer Through the Intercession of Saint Charbel
Saint Charbel, the Maronite hermit of Annaya, is invoked to guard both body and soul. Pilgrims still bring their fears for their families to his tomb and ask him to keep watch over them.
Saint Charbel, hermit of Annaya, you lived under God's protection in the silence of the mountain, and God has worked wonders through your prayers. Guard me and those I love from every harm of body and soul. Ask the Lord to set his angels around our home, to keep danger far from us, and to hold us close to him in every trial. Watch over us as a father watches over his children, and bring us safely to God. Amen.
Many pray this alongside the prayer for healing when they are asking God both to protect and to heal someone they love.
A Prayer for the Protection of the Home and Family
An old form of prayer asks God's blessing over the house and everyone in it. Pray it at the door, or in the evening with your family gathered.
Lord God, bless this home and all who live in it. Let your peace rest on these rooms and your protection stand at every door. Guard the ones I love while they wake and while they sleep, in coming in and going out. Drive far from this place all that would do us harm, and fill it instead with your presence. May your angels keep watch here, and may all who enter find safety and love. Amen.
Praying for your family by name is one of the oldest Christian habits. Say each name to God, and ask his shelter over that person by name.
Scripture for Protection
When your own words run out, Scripture gives you words that have guarded the faithful for millennia. Pray one verse slowly and let it stay with you through the day.
Psalm 91:11
"For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways."
Psalm 121:7-8
"The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore."
Isaiah 41:10
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
2 Thessalonians 3:3
"But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one."
Psalm 46:1
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
A Note on Prayer and Real-World Safety
Prayer for protection is real, and the Church has always trusted it. It also teaches that God protects us through ordinary means: locked doors, wise choices, the police, and people who can help. If you are in danger, praying and taking sensible action are not opposites. Reaching out for help is often the exact answer to the prayer for protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good prayer for protection?
A short, honest prayer is enough: "Lord, keep me and those I love safe today. Be a shield around us." The Church also gives us the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, Psalm 91, and the Guardian Angel prayer. Protection in prayer is asked from God, who alone keeps watch over us.
What Psalm is for protection?
Psalm 91 is the great Psalm of protection: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." It promises that God gives his angels charge over us. Psalm 121 ("The Lord is your keeper") and Psalm 46 ("God is our refuge and strength") are also prayed for safety.
Which saint do you pray to for protection?
Saint Michael the Archangel is the great protector against evil, invoked to defend us in spiritual battle. Guardian angels are asked for daily protection, and in the Maronite tradition Saint Charbel is invoked to guard body and soul.
What is the Saint Michael prayer?
The Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, is the Church's classic prayer against evil: "Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil..." It asks the prince of the heavenly host to protect us and cast down the enemy.
How do you pray for protection over your family?
Name each person to God and ask for his shelter over them: "Lord, guard my family. Set your angels around this home and keep everyone in it safe." Many families pray Psalm 91 together, ask Saint Michael to defend the household, and make the sign of the cross over their children at night.
See also: Prayer for Strength. Prayer for Anxiety. Prayer for Healing. Prayer for Family. Catholic Morning Prayers. Saint Charbel.