Scripture does not scold the anxious. Again and again it invites a worried heart to bring its burdens to God, who cares.
The Bible answers anxiety with an invitation to prayer and trust. Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God," promising peace that "passeth all understanding." 1 Peter 5:7 adds, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Read a full explanation of Philippians 4:6-7, or pray through these verses with a prayer for anxiety. The Bible verses about peace gather more promises for a restless mind.
Prayer is the Bible's first answer to an anxious heart.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Paul writes from imprisonment to the church at Philippi. In the English of 1611, careful meant full of care, or anxious.
Instead of anxiety, Paul urges prayer with thanksgiving, and promises that God's peace will guard heart and mind.
Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Peter writes to believers scattered and suffering, urging them to humble themselves under God's hand.
Worries can be handed over to God because he genuinely cares for each person.
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
David, betrayed by a close companion, pours out his distress to God.
Burdens too heavy to carry alone can be cast on the LORD, who sustains those who trust him.
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
David speaks to the people about waiting on God alone for help.
Prayer is pictured as pouring out the whole heart before God, who is a safe refuge.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
A psalmist troubled by injustice and the arrogance of evildoers.
When anxious thoughts multiply and crowd in, God's comforts bring the soul delight.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
David closes a psalm about God's complete knowledge of him.
Rather than hiding anxious thoughts, the psalmist invites God to search and know them.
Jesus spoke tenderly and directly to worried people.
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 teaches in the Sermon on the Mount about food, clothing and daily needs.
If the heavenly Father feeds the birds, his children can trust him with their needs.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
The same teaching, as Jesus turns from worry to priorities.
Putting God's kingdom first reorders a person's concerns, and Jesus promises the Father will supply what is needed.
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.
Jesus concludes his teaching on worry in the Sermon on the Mount. In older English, taking thought meant being anxious.
Jesus counsels living one day at a time, since each day carries enough trouble of its own.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Jesus answers Martha, busy and distracted with serving, while her sister Mary sits listening to him.
Jesus gently names Martha's worry and points to time with him as the one needful thing.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus speaks to the crowds after rebuking cities that rejected his message.
Rest is offered freely to all who are weary and heavy laden, as a gift rather than a reward.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Jesus speaks to his disciples at the Last Supper, shortly before his arrest.
Jesus answers troubled hearts with an invitation to trust in God and in him.
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.
The same farewell discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper.
The peace Jesus gives is unlike the world's peace, and it is offered to hearts that are troubled and afraid.
Verses for racing thoughts and sleepless nights.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Part of a song of trust that Isaiah says will be sung in the land of Judah.
Perfect peace is linked to a mind that is stayed, or fixed, on God in trust.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
An evening psalm of David, prayed at the end of a troubled day.
Sleep becomes possible because safety comes from the LORD, not from having everything settled.
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
A psalm of the sons of Korah about God's protection while nations rage and the earth shakes.
God calls his people to stop striving and to recognize who he is.
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
According to its title, David wrote this psalm after escaping from danger before Abimelech.
The psalmist testifies that seeking God brought deliverance from all his fears.
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
A wisdom saying about the power of words.
Heaviness weighs a person down, and a good word can lift them, so Scripture values encouragement.
Promises to hold when worry turns to fear.
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.
God speaks through Isaiah to Israel, his chosen servant, in a time of fear among the nations.
Every reason to fear is answered by God's presence, strength, help and upholding hand.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Paul, imprisoned in Rome, writes to encourage his younger coworker Timothy.
Fear does not come from God; the Spirit he gives brings power, love and a sound mind.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
A song of ascents, sung by pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem.
Help comes not from the hills themselves but from the Creator of heaven and earth.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul concludes a chapter on life in the Spirit and God's purposes for his people.
Nothing present or future can separate believers from God's love, a deep reassurance for an anxious mind.
Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be careful for nothing," where careful means full of care, or anxious. Instead of carrying worry alone, believers are invited to bring every concern to God in prayer with thanksgiving, and they are promised "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding." Scripture treats anxiety with compassion, not condemnation.
Many turn first to Philippians 4:6-7, and to 1 Peter 5:7: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Isaiah 26:3 is another favorite: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
In the English of 1611, to take thought meant to be anxious. When Jesus says in Matthew 6:34 "Take therefore no thought for the morrow," he is not forbidding planning. He is telling his listeners not to be consumed by worry, because their heavenly Father knows what they need (Matthew 6:32).
Psalm 55:22 says "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee," and Psalm 94:19 says "In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul." Psalm 4:8, Psalm 34:4 and Psalm 121 are also prayed often by people facing worry and fear.
Scripture does not treat the feeling of anxiety itself as sin. In Gethsemane Jesus said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death" (Matthew 26:38). The Bible's commands not to worry read as invitations to trust God. Many Christians also seek help from doctors and counselors alongside prayer, and Scripture does not forbid that.
Name each worry specifically, as Philippians 4:6 suggests, and add thanksgiving for what God has already done. Psalm 139:23 gives words to begin: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts." Then rest in a promise such as Isaiah 41:10, repeating it slowly.