Contextual topic guide
Bible Verses for Anxiety and Worry
Find peace and comfort in these scriptures about worry, fear, and anxiety. Let God's word calm your anxious heart.
Bible verses about anxiety do not shame anxious people. They invite prayer, trust, community, and attention to God's care in the middle of fear.
Best Bible verses about anxiety
Bible verses for anxiety and worry
Prayers and invitations to hand over what you are carrying.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
Paul joins prayer to thanksgiving.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The peace that follows prayer.
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Peter writes to believers facing pressure.
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
David writes after betrayal by a close friend.
“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”
Many anxious thoughts, and comfort that meets them.
“Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”
What heaviness does, and what a good word can do.
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
A prayer from someone whose heart is overwhelmed.
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”
The psalmist answers his own troubled soul.
“Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”
An invitation to pour out your heart.
Jesus' teaching on worry
Most of these come from Matthew 6, in the Sermon on the Mount; read it whole.
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”
In the KJV, "take no thought" means "do not be anxious."
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
Jesus points to the birds of the air.
“Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?”
A question about what worry can actually add.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
What to seek first.
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
One day at a time.
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Spoken to the disciples in Luke's version of this teaching.
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
Jesus to his disciples on the night before the crucifixion.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
An invitation to the weary to come and rest.
Bible verses about fear
"Fear not" is one of the most repeated phrases in Scripture.
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
Fear not, because God is present.
“What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”
David wrote this when he had been seized by the Philistines in Gath.
“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
David remembers being delivered from all his fears.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Paul to Timothy on fear and a sound mind.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
The dark valley, walked with the shepherd.
“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Two questions that answer fear.
“But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
Called by name.
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?”
Quoted again in Hebrews 13:6.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
John on love and fear.
Verses for a restless night
Short verses to read before sleep.
“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.”
An evening psalm of David.
“I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.”
Written when David fled from his son Absalom.
“When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.”
A father's promise to his son about sleep.
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”
A Song of degrees about trusting God with the work of the day.
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
The one who keeps you does not sleep.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Perfect peace for the mind stayed on God.
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Be still.
More Bible verses about anxiety
Further verses from this topic's original selection.
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Peace I leave with you
Scripture for anxious moments
Short verses can help in the moment, but deeper peace usually comes from reading the surrounding passage and praying it honestly.
Anxiety, worry, and fear
Searches for anxiety verses often overlap with fear, panic, sleep, and uncertainty. The best reading path includes Philippians 4, Matthew 6, Psalms, and Isaiah.
Questions about anxiety
What Bible verse helps with anxiety?
Philippians 4:6-7 is the most direct anxiety passage because it connects prayer, thanksgiving, and the peace of God.
Is anxiety a sin?
The Bible calls people to trust God, but it also shows faithful people crying out in fear and distress. Use these verses for prayer and support, not shame.