Protection
Prayer for Protection
For shelter from seen and unseen harm.
This is a prayer for protection — gathered for the moments when you need the right words. Below you'll find 4 traditions side by side, with scripture, a short note on each, and a few situational prayers for everyday use.
Compiled by the editors of A Prayer for Everything · Updated April 2026
Why pray this prayer
When you search for a prayer for protection, you're rarely looking for theology — you're looking for words to carry something heavy. Naming what you feel, out loud or in silence, is itself an act of trust: that someone is listening, that the situation is not yours alone to fix.
The prayers below have been used by people in the same place you are now — frightened, hopeful, grieving, grateful, uncertain. Pick the one that meets you today. You can pray word-for-word, paraphrase it, or let a single line become your own.
Christian Prayers for Protection
Drawn from the Christian tradition, grounded in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures and the prayer life of the church.
A Prayer for Protection
Lord, be my refuge and my fortress. Cover me with Your wings; let no harm come near me or those I love. Send Your angels to guard me in all my ways. Amen.
Jewish Prayers for Protection
Drawn from the Jewish tradition, rooted in Tanakh, the Siddur, and centuries of rabbinic prayer.
A Prayer for Protection
Hashkiveinu — Lay us down in peace and raise us up again to life. Spread over us Your shelter of peace. Amen.
Islamic Prayers for Protection
Drawn from the Islamic tradition of duʿāʾ, with reference to the Qur'an and the prayers of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
A Prayer for Protection
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what You have created. Protect me from before me and behind me, from my right and my left, and from above me. Ameen.
Multi-faith Prayers for Protection
Written in plain, universal language so it can be prayed by anyone, in any tradition or none.
A Prayer for Protection
Be a wall around me. Be a roof over me. Keep watch when I am sleeping, and walk beside me when I am afraid.
How to pray this prayer
- Find a quiet moment. Even 60 seconds is enough — first thing in the morning, last thing at night, or any pause in the day.
- Read the prayer once silently. Notice which line catches you. That line is yours today.
- Pray it aloud. Speaking the words — even in a whisper — makes the prayer feel less like reading and more like asking.
- Sit quietly for a moment after. Don't rush. Let the words settle. If a name or a face comes to mind, hold it there before you go on with your day.
When this prayer feels hard
Some days the words come easily. Other days you'll open this page and the prayer will feel hollow, or unanswered, or like you're talking to the ceiling. That doesn't mean you're praying wrong. It means you're a person.
When the prayer feels hard, try shortening it — even one honest line ("help me," "I don't understand," "thank you") is a complete prayer. If you're angry, pray angrily. If you're numb, pray the words anyway and let them do the work your feelings can't right now. Faith isn't measured by how the prayer feels in your mouth.