30 Psalms For Anxiety To Calm Your Fear, Worry And Depression
- Karen O'Reilly
- Feb 6
- 11 min read
Do you ever suffer from anxiety?
I have had very distressing times in the past that led to panic attacks. Thankfully it has been a long time since I have had the distressing symptoms of anxiety. Those anxiety attacks seem to surface when everything seems out of my control.
I'm going to share with you the antidote that I have discovered to quench my bouts of anxiety attacks. The answer is by renewing your mind with scripture and trusting that God is who He says He is, and that He has a good plan and a future for me (and you).
30 Day Bible Challenge
Join me for the next 30 days in using this 30-day bible reading plan in the Psalms. I have curated 30 Psalms for anxiety, psalms for fear, psalms for worry, and psalms for depression.
Anxiety can be a complex issue that usually finds its roots in fear, and events in our lives that cause us to worry, and our response to these life events if left unchecked can lead to depression.
Are you in the middle of:
a health crisis
change in job
sick child
loss of a job
financial worry
marriage crisis
Then this 30 day Bible reading plan is perfect for you.
There are 2 ways for you to participate in this Bible reading/study challenge
Follow the links on this page to separate 30 days of blog posts, and read the verses and devotional.
Dive a bit deeper using our printable Bible study and workbook. It contains text and group study questions.
You may have already participated in another bible challenge that we had on the 30 names of God. The name of God that speaks so loudly to me as I prepared this Psalms Bible reading plan, is El Roi which means the God who sees me. Hagar was the first person to use this name for God. The God that Hagar met in the desert is a deeply personal and intimate God. God saw how Sarai had treated Hagar which led her to flee to the desert. God met her right there in her time of distress and that is what God wants to do for you too.
Why read the Psalms?
God wants to meet you in your time of distress. You are not alone with these feelings of anxiety, worry, fear, and depression. You will find that the psalmists wrote many psalms due to the distress that they were in.
But the psalms that I will share with you are calming Psalms. They are psalms that were written by men that wrestled with stress, worry, and fear. They too suffered from great discouragement. These psalmists found the secret to overcoming all these overwhelming emotions that cause anxiety.
Can you guess what their secret weapon was?
These psalmists knew the secret weapon to overcome, anxiety, fear, worry, and depression was to give God a sacrifice of praise.
What happens when you worship God?
You will find, just like these psalmists did that when you worship God and sing songs of praise to Him that your perspective changes. As you worship God you will remember that He is a Big God and that He knows your situation. You will be encouraged as you remember events or circumstances from your life in the past and how God stepped right into the middle of them with you. And you will be changed just by practicing the presence of God.
Your circumstances may not change immediately but you will have renewed hope and joy and your heart will be strengthened.
As you read, write and pray these psalms daily your heart will be transformed.
You will exchange fear for courage, doubt for faith, and anxiety for peace. This does not mean that your anxiety immediately disappears but your heart will be strengthened as you write scripture and memorize these select bible verses of Psalms for anxiety.
When you give your anxious heart to God, He will take your fears, everything that causes you to worry, all that anxiety, and He will give you His supernatural peace.
Psalms Reading Plan And Free Daily Devotional
This bible challenge is more than just a scripture writing plan on Psalms for anxiety. I am inviting you daily to the blog for the next six weeks for a daily devotional bible study online. It is a free daily devotional with a little bit of bible study so that you can understand the context of each verse that we study. We will be studying these Psalms five days each week and then on the weekend, you can catch up if you missed a day.
I have designed a pretty printable bible reading plan. You can download this PDF to your desktop computer to print out or download it to your phone or tablet with one of the free PDF reading apps. I have been using the iBooks app and the GoodNotes on both my phone and tablet. I love that I can journal my thoughts and write my prayers wherever I am. This printable bible reading plan also contains a prayer journal. There are a few pages with prompts to help you dig deeper as you study and write these scriptures from the Psalms. You will find these journal pages invaluable as you read the daily devotionals that accompany this Psalms reading plan. It also contains a sample of our Psalms For Anxiety printable/digital Bible study.
So let's dive in and see our chosen bible verses from the Psalms bible plan. I have chosen 9 Psalms that speak specifically for anxiety, 7 Psalms for depression, 8 Psalms for fear, and 6 Psalms for worry.
Psalms for anxiety
1. Psalm 5:3 "Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Read our devotional God is listening.
2. Psalm 18:1-2 "I love you, Lord; you are my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety." Read our devotional, God is my fortress.
3. Psalm 23: 1-3 " The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." Read our devotional, He restores my soul.
4. Psalm 25:5 " Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you." Read our devotional, Show me Your ways, Lord.
5. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Read our devotional, God says, Be Still!
6. Psalm 118: 24 " This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." Read our devotional, This is the day the Lord has made.
7. Psalm 119: 165 "Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble." Read our devotional, Be difficult to offend.
8. Psalm 138:3 "As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength." Read our devotional, Be bold in the Lord.
9. Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Read our devotional, God knows my heart
Did you know that we have just launched our new printable Psalms For Anxiety Bible Study?
Psalms for depression
1. Psalm 3:3 "But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high." Read our devotional, God is the lifter of my head.
2. Psalm 30:5 "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." Read our devotional, Joy comes in the morning.
3. Psalm 30:11 "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy". Read our devotional, God turns your mourning into dancing.
4. Psalm 34:18 "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Read our devotional, God is close to the brokenhearted.
5. Psalm 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord" Read our devotional, Miry clay and solid ground.
6. Psalm 116:1-2 "I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. 2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!" Read our devotional, The Lord heard my cry.
7. Psalm 121:1-2 "I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!"
Psalms for fear
1. Psalm 4:8 "In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." Read our devotional, Psalm for sleep.
3. Psalm 23:4 "Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me". Read our devotional study, What does Psalm 23:4 mean?
4. Psalm 34:4-5 "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces." Read our devotional study, He delivered me from all my fears.
5. Psalm 46:1-2 "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea." Read our devotional study, God is our unshakable refuge and strength.
6. Psalm 56:3-4 "But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. 4 I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?" Read our devotional study, When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
7. Psalm 103:11-12 "For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west." Read our devotional study, As far as the East is from the West.
8. Psalm 121:5-8 "The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. 7 The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. 8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever." Read our devotional study, The Lord watches over you.
Psalms for worry
1. Psalm 21:11 "Although they plot against you, their evil schemes will never succeed." Read our devotional study, Don't worry, God's got this - evil shall not prevail.
2. Psalm 23:5-6 "You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever." Read our devotional study, God will prepare a table.
3. Psalm 55:22 "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall." Read our devotional study, Psalm 55:22.
4. Psalm 91:14-16 "The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” Read our devotional study, Intimacy with God Almighty.
5. Psalm 94:19 "When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." Read our devotional study, Finding Serenity in God's Presence.
6. Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me." Read our devotional study, The Lord will fulfill His Purpose for me.
Psalms For Anxiety Prayer journal template
Here is your printable prayer journal with a printable list of the 30 scriptures.
This prayer journal is designed to help you to dig deeper into each verse from our Bible reading plan. You will find this free download in the Resource Library HERE.
Download it to your phone or tablet in the Goodnotes app or the iBooks app or any other pdf reader and record your thoughts and prayers as you work through the list of scriptures.
Let's talk about how to benefit from this list of scriptures from the Psalms.
This list of scriptures on Psalms for anxiety is perfect for scripture writing. I find that writing them out, allows you time to learn them and think about them more deeply. Use this pretty journal stationary with prompts to help you during your devotional time. It should take about 10 minutes to write each verse but spend as much time as you have, sitting in God's presence and listening for His Holy Spirit speaking to your heart, instructing, and guiding you.
Copying scripture and carrying it with us throughout the day, reading it, and memorizing it, makes God's word a part of us. It renews your mind and calms your anxious heart.
2. Download all 30 Days of Psalms For Anxiety Bible studies. They are perfect for studying in a group setting. Learn from David and other Psalmists how they coped with extreme anxiety, yet knew the supernatural peace that can only come from God. Group discussion questions are included.
3. Do you like to color? We have a new Bible verse coloring book available to download immediately and print. As you color the Bible verse, it helps you to memorize it. As you engage in the activity, you may find yourself repeating the verse in your mind or even out loud. This repetition can reinforce the memorization process and help you commit the verse to memory. Additionally, the act of coloring itself can enhance the encoding of information in your brain, making it easier to recall the verse later.
I would love it if you could share with me your thoughts as you work your way through this Scripture plan. You can connect with me via email karen@scripturalgrace.com or on our FACEBOOK page.
And tell your friends about this study. You can share this post to Facebook using the button below or use the Pinterest graphic above in the post.
God bless,
Karen.
P. S This free printable is also available in our digital Book Shop HERE . Click on the pic.
