Bible verses about protection: 19 passages for when you or someone you love is at risk

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Four names for God in two verses: Most High, Almighty, LORD and God. The protection comes with nearness: it is for the one who dwells in his shelter.

He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.

A mother bird covering her young. Jesus used the same picture over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37).

He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber. Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Pilgrims sang this on the road to Jerusalem. Elijah once mocked Baal as a god who might be asleep (1 Kings 18:27); Israel’s Keeper never is.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Read the next verse too: the rich imagine their wealth is a high wall. The contrast is between a real tower and an imagined one.

‘May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’

The blessing God gave Aaron to speak over Israel. Words from it appear on two tiny silver scrolls from around 600 BC, among the oldest known pieces of biblical text.

The LORD will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.

Your coming and going covers all of life: leaving for school, a trip, a first job, and returning home. Many families pray it over travellers.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

David wrote this psalm after escaping a king by pretending to be mad. Encamps is a military word: an army pitching its tents around you.

I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.

Jesus prays for his friends the night before the cross. He does not ask that they be removed from the world, but kept safe in it.

“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

An enemy army had surrounded the town of Dothan by night. Nothing about the situation changed. What changed was the servant’s ability to see it.

But You, O LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Written when David was running from his own son Absalom, head covered and weeping. God is the one who lifts his head.

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.

David prayed this hiding in a cave from Saul. Until the danger has passed is an honest phrase: shelter is for the meantime, while the storm is still going.

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Moses spoke this with the sea in front and Egypt’s army behind. Sometimes the bravest thing is to stop running and let God act.

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

Paul has just asked for prayer to be rescued from wicked people. He turns straight from their unreliability to the Lord’s faithfulness.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

The armour is God’s own: Isaiah pictures God himself putting on righteousness as a breastplate (Isaiah 59:17). Believers stand in what he wears.

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Two hands hold you: the Son’s and the Father’s. The promise rests on their strength, not on your grip.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—

Jude spends most of his short letter warning about false teachers. He ends by pointing to the One who is able to keep you from falling.

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.

When, not if. The promise is not that you will avoid the waters and the fire, but that you will not go through them alone.

The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’

Part of Moses’ last blessing on Israel. However far you fall, the everlasting arms are underneath.

For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

The devil quoted these lines to Jesus to tempt him to jump from the temple (Matthew 4:6). Jesus refused. The promise is for walking in God’s ways, not for testing him with reckless risks.