Protection & Travel

Motorcycle Prayer

Every spring, parishes across the country hold a Blessing of the Bikes. Hundreds of motorcycles line up in a church car park, a priest or pastor walks the rows with holy water, and riders who may not have been inside a church all year bow their heads. It is one of the most honest prayers in the calendar, because everyone there knows exactly what they are asking to be protected from.

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These prayers are for the rest of the season: the solo ride, the group ride, the new bike, and the empty spot in the formation.

Historical Context

Patron of travellers: St Christopher, 25 July

Custom: the spring Blessing of the Bikes

Scripture: Psalm 91:11–12, angels to keep you in your ways

Many riders carry a St Christopher medal on the key ring or zipped into a jacket. It is a reminder to pray, not a substitute for a helmet. The prayers below ask for both kinds of protection: the kind God gives, and the good judgment that is the rider’s own part.

A Prayer Before a Ride

Lord, ride with me today.
Keep my tires on the road and my mind on the ride.
Open the eyes of every driver who does not see me.
Give me the sense to slow down
and the humility to back off when I should.
Thank you for the open road and the wind.
Bring me home.
St Christopher, pray for me.
Amen.

A Prayer for a Group Ride

Lord, bless this group as we ride out.
Keep the formation tight and the spacing safe.
Give the road captain wisdom and the sweep patience.
Watch the back of the pack as closely as the front.
Bring every one of us back to this lot tonight.
Amen.

A Blessing for a New Bike

Lord, bless this motorcycle and the one who rides it.
Let it run true and stop when it is asked to.
Let every mile on it be a safe one,
and let the freedom it gives be used well.
Amen.

For a Rider Who Has Died

Lord, he loved the road, and the road took him.
We commend him to you.
Give him rest and a road without danger.
Comfort his family and the brothers and sisters he rode with,
and keep the rest of us safe out there.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
Amen.

Best Times for This Prayer

Before the first ride of the season.
At a Blessing of the Bikes, a poker run or a charity ride.
Before a long road trip or riding in bad weather.
When bringing home a new motorcycle.
At a memorial ride for a fallen rider.

Scripture Connection

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” — Psalm 91:11–12

Psalm 91 is the psalm of protection for people in danger, and its pictures are of a traveller on rough ground. Riders know better than most what a stone in the road can do.

Related prayers

For the patron of travellers, see the Saint Christopher Prayer. Other prayers for the road: the Truck Driver Prayer, the New Driver Prayer and the Safely Home Prayer.

More protection & travel prayers

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About Stephen S. Griffin

Stephen S. Griffin is the pen name of the person who runs Guided by Prayer, a reference library of prayers. How the prayers are written and sourced.