Faith & Life / Nightly Prayers
Quick Summary
Psalm 91 is the Bible's great psalm of protection. It opens with a promise for anyone who trusts God: "You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust'" (Psalm 91:1-2). For centuries, Christians and Jews have prayed it at bedtime, in sickness, in danger, and before sending loved ones out the door.
This page gives you the full text of Psalm 91, a short explanation of each section, and a prayer to go with every part of the psalm. You'll also find a night prayer and a morning prayer from Psalm 91, prayers for your family and for times of sickness, a simple way to pray the psalm in your own words, and an honest look at what Psalm 91 promises.
Psalm 91 Prayers at a Glance
| Pray For | Verses |
|---|---|
| Shelter and refuge | Psalm 91:1-2 |
| Covering under his wings | Psalm 91:3-4 |
| Fear of the night | Psalm 91:5-6 |
| God as your home | Psalm 91:9-10 |
| Angels to guard you | Psalm 91:11-12 |
| God's answer in trouble | Psalm 91:14-16 |
Scripture references from the New Revised Standard Version.
Psalm 91 (NRSV)
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;
4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.
15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.
16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Who Wrote Psalm 91?
The Hebrew text of Psalm 91 has no title and names no author. It is one of the Bible's anonymous psalms. The Greek Septuagint later added a heading that connects it to David. Some Jewish tradition links it to Moses, because it follows Psalm 90, "A Prayer of Moses, the man of God," and picks up its themes of God as our dwelling place (Psalm 90:1; 91:9). For more, see Who Wrote the Psalms? and How Many Psalms Are Anonymous?
Psalm 91 has long been a night prayer. It is part of the traditional bedtime prayers in Judaism, and it is one of the psalms the church has sung at Compline, the last prayer service of the day, since the early monasteries. Verse 5 explains why: "You will not fear the terror of the night."
Psalm 91:1-2: Shelter of the Most High
"You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, 'My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.'"
The psalm opens with four names for God in two verses. Most High (El Elyon) says God rules over everything. Almighty(Shaddai) says nothing is too strong for him. LORD is God's personal covenant name, Yahweh. And my God makes it personal.
The key words are live and abide. Psalm 91 describes a person who makes their home in God, staying close to him day after day. A shadow is cool, safe shade in the desert heat, and you have to stay close to the one who casts it. Read more in El Elyon, God Most High, El Shaddai, God Almighty, Refuge, a Relational Title of God, and Fortress, a Relational Title of God.
A Prayer to Dwell in God's Shelter
Most High God, I want to live in your shelter. Almighty God, let me abide in your shadow. LORD, you are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Keep me close to you today and tonight, so close that I stay in your shade. Amen.
Psalm 91:3-4: Under His Wings
"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."
A fowler was a bird hunter who set hidden traps. The snare is the danger you don't see coming. Pestilence is disease. God promises to deliver from both.
Then the picture turns tender. Pinions are the strong feathers of a bird's wing. God covers his people the way a mother bird gathers her chicks underneath her. Jesus used the same picture when he wept over Jerusalem: "How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (Luke 13:34). God's faithfulness is also a shield, so the psalm holds the gentle image and the strong one together.
A Prayer for Covering
Faithful God, cover me with your wings tonight. Deliver me from the traps I can't see and from sickness that threatens my body. Gather me close like a mother bird gathers her young. Let your faithfulness be my shield. Amen.
Psalm 91:5-6: No Fear of the Night
"You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday."
These verses cover the whole clock: night, day, darkness, and noon. Some dangers come in the dark, like the fears that keep you awake. Others strike in broad daylight, fast as an arrow. Psalm 91 promises freedom from fear, the dread that grips a person before anything has even happened.
That is why so many people pray Psalm 91 at bedtime. Night is when worries grow loud. For more on anxious nights and mornings, see Morning Prayers for Peace and Anxiety and Fear Not Verses in the Bible.
A Prayer Against Fear
LORD, the night can feel long and full of fear. You promise I don't have to be afraid of the terror of the night or the arrow by day. Take my fears tonight, one by one. [Name them.] Guard me in the dark and at noon. Let me rest without dread, because you are awake and watching. Amen.
Psalm 91:7-10: Making the LORD Your Dwelling Place
"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you... Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent." (Psalm 91:7, 9-10)
Verse 9 repeats the opening of the psalm and gives the reason for its promises: because you have made the LORD your refuge. The person in Psalm 91 has chosen where to live. God is their home, their "dwelling place," the same word Moses uses in Psalm 90:1: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations."
The promise is strong: no evil shall befall you. Read it alongside the rest of Scripture, where faithful people still suffer, and its meaning becomes clear. No evil can reach the life you have hidden in God. Paul said it this way: nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
A Prayer to Make God My Home
LORD, I make you my refuge again tonight. Most High, be my dwelling place. Whatever happens around me, let it not come near the life I have hidden in you. Guard my home and every person under its roof. Amen.
Psalm 91:11-13: Angels Guarding Your Ways
"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot."
These are some of the most famous verses in Psalm 91, and the devil himself quoted them. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he took Jesus to the top of the temple and quoted Psalm 91:11-12, urging him to jump (Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 4:9-11). Jesus answered, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test'" (Matthew 4:7).
That story teaches how to read Psalm 91. It is a promise to trust, and Jesus refused to use it as a dare. God's angels guard us "in all your ways," as we walk the paths God gives us. Read more in The Temptation of Jesus (Luke 4:1-13) and Bible Verses About Angels.
A Prayer for Angelic Protection
Lord, command your angels to guard me and the people I love in all our ways. Bear us up when we stumble. Give us strength over every danger, the lion and the serpent and whatever else comes against us. Keep us walking in your ways, trusting you without testing you. Amen.
Psalm 91:14-16: God's Own Promises
"Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation."
At verse 14 the voice changes. For thirteen verses, someone has been telling us about God. Now God speaks for himself. He makes eight promises in three verses: I will deliver, protect, answer, be with them, rescue, honor, and satisfy them, and show them my salvation.
Look at the middle promise: I will be with them in trouble. Trouble may still come, and God promises to be there in it. And the last word of the psalm is salvation, which reaches beyond this life into eternity.
A Prayer Answering God's Promise
LORD, I love you, and I want to know your name. I'm calling to you now. Answer me. Be with me in my trouble. Deliver me, protect me, and rescue me. Satisfy me with your goodness all my life, and show me your salvation. Amen.
A Night Prayer From Psalm 91
Most High God, I lie down tonight in your shelter. You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Cover me with your wings. Let me not fear the terror of the night. Command your angels to guard this house and every person in it. Calm my racing thoughts and give me rest in the shadow of the Almighty. When I call to you, answer me. I trust you with this night and with tomorrow. Amen.
For more prayers before sleep, see Night Prayer for Protection, and Bible Verses About Sleep.
A Morning Prayer From Psalm 91
LORD, as this day begins, I choose to live in your shelter. You are my refuge and my fortress. Deliver me from hidden traps and from sickness. Guard me from the arrow that flies by day and the destruction at noon. Send your angels to keep me in all my ways: on the road, at work, and at home. Be with me in every trouble today. Amen.
For more morning prayers for safety, see Morning Prayers for Protection.
A Psalm 91 Prayer for Family
LORD, I bring my family under your wings. [Name each person.] Be their refuge and their fortress. Deliver them from every snare and every sickness. Let no evil come near our home. Command your angels to guard them in all their ways, at school, at work, and on the road. When they call to you, answer them, and show them your salvation. Amen.
A Psalm 91 Prayer in Sickness
God Almighty, you promise to deliver from the deadly pestilence and the sickness that stalks in darkness. I bring you [name / my body] tonight. Cover us with your wings. Guard our bodies and calm our fears. Give wisdom to every doctor and nurse. Be with us in this trouble, and rescue us. Amen.
For more, see Morning Prayers for Healing and Prayers of Healing in the Bible.
How to Pray Psalm 91 in Your Own Words
Psalm 91 is easy to turn into your own prayer. Here is a simple way to do it.
Read it out loud, slowly, once through.
Change the pronouns. Where it says you, say me. "He will cover me with his pinions, and under his wings I will find refuge."
Pray it for someone else. Put a name where the psalm says you. "LORD, command your angels concerning Sarah, to guard her in all her ways."
Stop on one verse. Pick the verse that fits tonight and say it back to God as a prayer.
End with verses 14-16. Let God have the last word. Thank him for his promises.
What Does Psalm 91 Promise?
Psalm 91 makes bold promises, and it is worth reading them the way Jesus did. Faithful people in the Bible still faced danger and hardship. Paul was shipwrecked and beaten. Jesus himself, the most faithful person who ever lived, went to the cross. So we read Psalm 91 alongside the rest of the Bible, where believers still get sick and still suffer.
Read that way, its promises run deep. God is a real refuge. He protects his people in countless ways we will never know about. He is present in trouble. And no evil can finally take what belongs to him, because the psalm ends in salvation. That is why Christians have prayed it in wars, plagues, and hospital rooms, and still do. For more, see Bible Verses About Protection.
A Psalm 91 Prayer for Children
Dear God, thank you for keeping me safe under your wings like a mama bird keeps her babies. Please send your angels to watch over me and my family tonight. Help me not be afraid of the dark. Amen.
Keep Praying
For more prayers at the end of the day, visit Nightly Prayers. For morning prayers from the Psalms, see Morning Prayers From the Psalms. For the prayers prayed throughout Scripture, read The Complete List of Prayers in the Bible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Psalm 91 about? Psalm 91 is about God's protection for those who trust him. It describes God as a shelter, refuge, and fortress, and promises deliverance from danger, sickness, and fear. In the last three verses, God speaks and promises to be with his people in trouble.
What is the Psalm 91 prayer? Many people pray Psalm 91 by reading it aloud and changing you to me, or by putting a loved one's name in the verses. A short version: "LORD, you are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust" (Psalm 91:2).
Who wrote Psalm 91? The Hebrew text doesn't name an author. The Greek Septuagint connects it to David, and some Jewish tradition connects it to Moses because it follows Psalm 90.
Why do people pray Psalm 91 at night? Verse 5 promises, "You will not fear the terror of the night." Psalm 91 has been part of Jewish bedtime prayers and Christian night prayer (Compline) for centuries.
Did Satan quote Psalm 91? Yes. In the temptation of Jesus, Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10-11). Jesus answered with Deuteronomy 6:16: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
Does Psalm 91 mean Christians will never get sick? No. Faithful people in Scripture still suffered. Psalm 91 promises God's presence and protection in trouble (Psalm 91:15) and a salvation that no sickness or danger can take away.
What is the shadow of the Almighty? It is a picture of nearness and safety. A shadow gives shade from the sun, and you have to stay close to whatever casts it. To abide in God's shadow is to stay close to him.
Works Consulted
Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of the Psalms. Augsburg Fortress.
Mays, James Luther. Psalms. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Westminster John Knox.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version.
