PRAYERS FOR PROTECTION

In these three prayers for protection we ask God to look after us at night as much as during the busiest parts of our day. This first one was composed by St. Augustine (pictured below):

These two prayers suggest a similar need for our Lord’s vigilance:

Be present, O Lord, and protect us through the silent hours of this night, that we who are wearied with the work and changes of this fleeting world, may rest upon Thy eternal changelessness. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Whose unwearied eye neither slumbers nor sleeps, but continually watches in defense of thy servants; take me and mine, I beseech thee, into thy protection, and grant, that whilst my body is asleep, my soul may be awake to Thee, and that I may hereafter behold Thee in that blessed and heavenly country, where thou, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, rulest eternally, and where all the angels, with the blessed saints, are citizens forever. Amen.

The first two of these three prayers remind us that our Lord Himself invited those who are weary to “Come to me, all you who labor, and are burdened and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28-30).

Touching on the references to eternity in the second and third prayer, we can also derive great comfort from knowing that Christ’s own death upon a cross couldn’t separate us from Him, for as he said after His resurrection “I am with you always” (Matt 28:20).

Indeed, all three of these prayers for protection bring to mind a wonderful passage from Psalm 121, meant originally to reassure those on arduous journeys that God was watching over them: “Behold, He will neither slumber nor sleep who guards Israel…the Lord shall guard your coming and going, henceforth and forever” (Ps 121:4, 8). This comforting thought can help us sleep better at night!