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Psalm 91 has been prayed over soldiers, travellers, sick children and front doors for something like three thousand years. It is the passage people reach for when they cannot do anything else.
The last section on this page is the one most lists leave out, and it is there on purpose. A page about God's protection that never mentions Christians who were not spared is not being honest with you.
The images are all structural — a refuge, a fortress, a strong tower, wings. Things you get inside.
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
4 He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:1-4
7 The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul.
8 The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:7-8
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
Proverbs 18:10
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
Psalm 46:1
But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
Psalm 127:1 is the honest one: unless the Lord watches the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
Psalm 127:1
He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Proverbs 14:26
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.
Isaiah 54:17
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever shout for joy. May You shelter them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
Psalm 5:11
Psalm 121 was sung by people walking to Jerusalem, and Psalm 4:8 is the short one for 3am.
1 A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
4 Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:1-4
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
Exodus 23:20
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Isaiah 43:2
Jesus said plainly that in this world we would have trouble. The promise is that nothing separates us from Him, not that nothing happens to us.
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
John 16:33
8 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:35-37
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
Pray Psalm 91 out loud over the specific people you are worried about, by name, rather than in general. It takes about two minutes. Praying by name is harder and it is the version that tends to stay with you — and it turns a vague dread into a specific request, which is the one thing you can actually do with worry about someone else.
A prayer you can borrow
Father, cover the people I love. I cannot be with them and I cannot see what is ahead of them, and You can do both. Where I am afraid of something that will never happen, quiet me. Where there is real danger, go ahead of them. And if You do not spare us something, be the thing that nothing separates us from. Amen.
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Psalm 91:1-4 is the passage the church has prayed longest for this. For something shorter, Psalm 121:7 — "The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul" — or Proverbs 18:10, the name of the LORD as a strong tower.
Psalm 91 by name is the traditional one. Proverbs 14:26 is worth knowing too — the person who fears the Lord becomes a refuge for their own children, which puts some of the protection in your hands rather than only in your prayers.
Not in the sense of preventing all harm, and Scripture does not claim otherwise. Jesus told His disciples they would have trouble in this world and most of them died badly. What Romans 8:35-39 promises is that none of it separates us from His love — which is a different and sturdier promise than immunity.
Pray Psalm 91 aloud over the specific people and places you are worried about, by name. There is a written prayer at the bottom of this page you are welcome to borrow, and more on our spiritual warfare prayers page.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.