A Police Officer's Prayer (and Prayers for the People Who Love Them)
Officers pray in places no one sees: in the patrol car before the first call, in the parking lot after a hard one, at the kitchen table when sleep will not come. Many would never pray out loud at work. They pray anyway.
Below are four prayers written from more than two decades of chaplaincy: one for an officer starting a shift, one for the family at home, one for a department that has lost one of its own, and a short one a chaplain can pray at roll call. They are written to be prayed by any officer who prays, which is why each one closes simply with Amen. Use them as written, or as a place to begin your own.
A police officer's prayer for the start of a shift
This is the prayer for the moment before the shift begins, whether that is in the locker room, the driveway, or the first minute behind the wheel.
Lord, before I put on this badge, I put myself in your hands.
Go with me through this shift.
Give me eyes that see clearly, a mind that stays calm,
and a heart that does not harden.
Make me brave when courage is needed,
and gentle when gentleness is the stronger thing.Let me treat every person I meet today with the dignity you gave them,
even the ones who make it hard.
Guard my partners, and guard the people I am sworn to protect.
Keep my judgment sound, my words measured, and my hands just.
If I face danger, be my shield.
If I make a mistake, give me the honesty to own it.And when this shift is over, bring me home whole,
to the people who are waiting for me,
with enough of myself left to love them well.Amen.
A prayer like this is not a charm against danger. It is a way of naming, before the first call, the kind of officer you intend to be. The line about a heart that does not harden is there on purpose: the slow wear on an officer's conscience is its own kind of wound, and the site's guide to officer wellness and moral injury maps it.
A prayer for a police officer's family
The people who love an officer serve a shift too. Theirs is spent waiting. This prayer is for spouses, parents, and children, and it can be prayed together at the table or alone after the door closes.
God of every household,
you know the sound of a door closing at the start of a shift,
and the long hours before it opens again.
Watch over the one we love while they are out of our sight.
When the phone is quiet too long, quiet our fear.
When the news comes on, steady our hearts.Give us patience with missed dinners, changed plans,
and holidays spent apart.
When our officer comes home carrying things they cannot say,
give us wisdom to listen without demanding,
and love that does not keep score.
Protect our children from worry beyond their years,
and let them grow up proud and unafraid.Hold our family together in the seasons when the job pulls hard.
And bring our officer home tonight, and every night,
to a house that still feels like peace.Amen.
A prayer for a department that has lost an officer
When an officer dies, a whole agency grieves at once, usually while it is still answering calls. This prayer is written for a briefing room, a vigil, or a memorial service, and for the officers who will read it alone later.
Lord, we come to you with a silence in our ranks.
One of our own has fallen, and the loss is heavier than words.
We thank you for their life:
for the courage they carried, the partners they backed up,
and the strangers they served without being asked.Receive our grief as it is, raw and unfinished.
Comfort their family in the empty places at the table,
and stay close to them long after the ceremonies end.
Be near to those who were there at the end,
and to those who wish they had been.
Lift from them every burden that does not belong to them.Hold this department together.
Keep us from bitterness, keep us from recklessness,
and keep us looking after one another.
Give us strength to keep answering the calls,
and grace to grieve even as we serve.
Let their name be remembered and their service honored among us,
and hold us fast in the hope that death does not have the last word.Amen.
A line-of-duty death sets off a long chain of care, from the family's first hours to the months after the funeral. The shape of that work is mapped in the Critical Incident Response guide, and the full treatment is in Chaplain with a Badge.
A short prayer for roll call
Roll call is not church. A chaplain invited to pray at briefing is speaking to a room of people with different beliefs and very little time, so the prayer should be short, inclusive, and never a sermon. Where agency policy allows it and command invites it, something like this is enough:
God of all people, go with this shift.
Give these officers clear minds, steady hands,
and courage matched with compassion.
Protect them, and protect the people they serve.
Bring every one of them home safely tonight.Amen.
No one in that room should feel pressure to bow a head. A chaplain's care is unconditional, including for the officer who does not pray, and that principle has its own place in the Chaplain's Code of Ethics.
Keep a prayer close
Some officers keep a prayer or a verse on a card in a wallet, a visor, or a locker. There is a free printable police prayer card you can print for yourself, for the officer you love, or for a whole roll call. If scripture is where you draw strength, Bible Verses for Police Officers collects twelve passages for the shift, each with a short reflection.
Where to go deeper
Prayer is one part of the spiritual care officers and their families need. The rest, from ordinary presence at the station to the worst week an agency can have, is what a law enforcement chaplain is for; What Is a Police Chaplain? sets out the role. The full treatment of how chaplains care for officers, families, and grieving departments is Chaplain with a Badge: Guidelines for Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. And on October 28, National First Responders Day is a fitting day to pray these prayers aloud.
Frequently asked questions
What is the police officer's prayer?
There is no single official police officer's prayer. Several traditional versions circulate, many of them anonymous, and most ask God for protection, courage, and wisdom on duty. The prayer on this page is an original one, written by a working law enforcement chaplain for the start of a shift.
How do I pray for a police officer?
Pray for what the job actually asks: safety, sound judgment, courage balanced with compassion, protection from bitterness, and a safe return home. Pray for the officer's family as well, and for the people the officer will meet during the shift.
Can a chaplain pray at roll call?
Often, yes, where agency policy allows it and command invites it. A roll-call prayer should be brief, inclusive of officers of every faith and none, and never a sermon. No officer should feel pressure to take part.
Is there a printable prayer card for police officers?
Yes. A free printable police prayer card is available in the Resources section of this site. It can be printed at home and shared with an officer, a family, or a whole roll call.