Bible Verses About Anxiety
Scripture does not promise a life free from worry, but it does offer a clear path through it: turning anxiety over to God in prayer. The Psalms in particular are full of honest cries to God from people in distress — men and women who named their fear plainly before the Lord and found that He answered. The Catholic tradition has always read these texts not as commands to feel nothing, but as invitations to bring everything to God.
Saint Paul, writing from prison, tells the Philippians not to be anxious about anything — and then immediately tells them why: because the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard their hearts. This is not stoic detachment but active trust grounded in prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§2732) identifies anxiety as one of the chief obstacles to prayer, while also recognizing it as a wound that calls for the remedy of prayer itself.
Note: 2 verses on this page are from the deuterocanonical books — books included in the Catholic Bible but absent from most Protestant translations (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1–2 Maccabees).
10 verses — Douay-Rheims Bible (1899 Challoner revision) — Public domain
Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:6-7 — Douay-Rheims
Paul writes from prison to the church at Philippi, urging them toward rejoicing and peace despite his own captivity.
Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit?Matthew 6:25-27 — Douay-Rheims
From the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus contrasts earthly worry with trust in the Father's providential care.
Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever.Psalm 55:22 — Douay-Rheims
A psalm of David during betrayal, offering the enduring counsel to entrust one's burdens to God.
Casting all your care upon him, for he hath care of you.1 Peter 5:7 — Douay-Rheims
Peter echoes Psalm 55, applying it to Christians facing persecution and trial.
Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee.Isaiah 41:10 — Douay-Rheims
God's direct address to Israel in exile, often applied in Catholic tradition to any soul facing fear or affliction.
Yea, though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.Psalm 23:4 — Douay-Rheims
The most beloved of the Psalms, affirming God's presence even in the darkest passages of life.
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.John 14:27 — Douay-Rheims
Jesus speaks these words to the Apostles at the Last Supper, hours before his Passion.
Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein.Sirach 2:6Deuterocanonical — Douay-Rheims
From the Deuterocanonical Book of Sirach, counseling trust in God through trials — a text absent from Protestant Bibles.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.Wisdom 3:1Deuterocanonical — Douay-Rheims
The opening of the Book of Wisdom, offering the deepest consolation for anxiety about death and ultimate fate.
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, 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.Romans 8:38-39 — Douay-Rheims
Paul's triumphant conclusion to Romans 8, the great chapter on life in the Spirit.
Related Topics
Related Catholic Prayers
Source
All verse texts from the Douay-Rheims Bible (1899 Challoner revision), public domain. The Douay-Rheims is the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate.