The Prayer for Protection

Since James Dillet Freeman wrote its first draft in 1940, the “Prayer for Protection” has been one of the most repeated and impactful lines of prayer verse in the English language.

It first appeared in the 1940 Silent Unity Christmas service as:

Christ light directs you.
Christ love infolds you.
Christ might protects you.
Christ peace upholds you.

By March 1942, a four-line version that we know today appeared, printed on the inside back cover of His Protecting Spirit, which was written by Freeman.

In his November 1987 column in Unity Magazine, “Life Is a Wonder,” Freeman talked about how he wrote the prayer. He was in the process of writing the Christmas service to support soldiers and their families during World War II. He was leaning on the old faithful Psalm 23 when he received this advice from a prayer associate.

"Jim, if I were a woman in England and they were dropping bombs on my roof, or if I were a soldier and someone was pointing a loaded gun at me, I wouldn't want to feel like I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Can't you do better than that?"

Freeman went on to revise the verse again, adding the fifth line: “Wherever you are, GOD IS!”

In 1969, astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin carried the prayer with him on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. The “Prayer for Protection” has gone on to become one of the most beloved lines of prayerful poetry ever written in the English Language.

Often, those who recite the prayer add an additional line: “and all is well.” This line was added after Freeman’s death. It is not a recorded part of the prayer that Freeman wrote.

Find daily inspiration with these Prayer for Protection products from Unity.