God is our good, good Father, and He wants the best for us. He loves us, and He never wants us to be swallowed up by anxiety during the holidays or at any time of the year.
The holiday season can leave us feeling extremely anxious. For many of us, the holiday season can be more overwhelming than it is enjoyable. Encountering difficult family members, preparing events, and shopping for gifts on a tight budget can leave us feeling on edge.
When you’re feeling anxious this holiday season, here are five Scriptures to pray that will bring peace and joy:
1. Philippians 4:6
The first Scripture to pray when the holidays leave you anxious is Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” This passage of Scripture is great to pray when you feel anxious in any season, particularly during the hectic holidays. I memorized this passage in high school, and I still meditate on it when I feel anxious. Whether I feel anxious during the holidays or another season of the year, praying Philippians 4:6 helps to set my heart and mind’s focus back on God.
As Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6, we don’t need to be anxious about anything but rather to present our prayers to the Lord. God knows when we are feeling anxious, and He wants us to give Him all of our worries and concerns. The Bible tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). God cares about us, and He doesn’t want us to be anxious because He is in control, even in the holiday season. The holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy, yet for many of us, it is a time of anxiety. But God is the Creator of joy and wants us to experience it in our daily lives.
Praying Scriptures is a great way to internalize God’s Word, and it helps us connect to the Scriptures on a deeper level. By praying Scripture, we can more closely relate to the author and how they felt when they wrote the passage. When we see the writers of the Bible as humans, we can more easily relate to their faith and apply their teachings to our lives. Praying Philippians 4:6 will help to remind us not to be anxious this holiday season and to choose to give all those worries over to God. The Lord doesn’t want you to be anxious, and He is more than willing to help you carry the anxiety.
2. 2 Timothy 1:7
A second Scripture to pray when the holidays leave you anxious is 2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” This is a great passage to pray during the anxious times of the holiday season as it reminds us that God has given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. Some versions of the Bible translated “self-discipline” to be “sound mind” (21st Century King James Version). Nonetheless, God is telling us the truth through His Word that He didn’t give us a spirit of anxiety but a spirit of power, love, and sound mind.
When you are feeling anxious this holiday season, pray 2 Timothy 1:7 out loud. This passage of Scripture helps us to rest in the promises of God. We can pray to ask God to help fill our hearts with power, love, and self-discipline instead of anxiety and fear. God will help us if we turn to Him. He will strengthen us and uphold us by His mighty hand (Isaiah 41:10-13). God is our good, good Father, and He wants the best for us. He loves us, and He never wants us to be swallowed up by anxiety during the holidays or at any time of the year.
3. Matthew 6:25
Matthew 6:25 is a third Scripture to pray when the holidays leave you anxious as the Lord tells us, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” This is another great Scripture to pray for when you’re feeling anxious because it shows us that our focus doesn’t need to be on the things of this world. Christmas is supposed to be focused on the birth of Christ, but the world has turned it into a materialistic holiday that demands all of our time and attention. We are left feeling drained and sometimes secretly wishing all the holidays would end.
As Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25, life is more than what we wear or eat. Our life is for the Lord and helping others know Him. When we are feeling anxious this holiday because of all of the preparations for the season, we can pray and ask God to help us remember that life is not about the things of this world. We can ask Him to help us focus our time and energy on what matters—His love.
4. Psalm 94:19
A fourth Scripture to pray when the holidays leave you anxious is Psalm 94:19, “When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” This is a perfect passage of Scripture that we can memorize and pray when anxious because it calls us to remember that God brings comfort to our souls. The Lord replaces our anxiety with His joy. We can all experience this joy by turning to Him and asking Him to fill our hearts with His incomparable contentment and peace.
Praying Psalm 94:19 can look like telling God that we are experiencing high anxiety and that we need His love to bring comfort to our souls. God hears our prayers, and He will comfort our hearts and souls. Nobody likes to experience anxiety because it can leave us feeling panicked, tired, and overwhelmed. Instead of experiencing these negative feelings, we can turn to God in prayer and pour our hearts out to Him. Even though it is the holiday season, that doesn’t mean God is too busy to hear from you. He is never too busy, and He has unlimited time just for you.
5. Jeremiah 17:7
A fifth Scripture to pray when the holidays leave you anxious is Jeremiah 17:7, “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” Praying Jeremiah 17:7 is a great way to help relieve anxiety as this passage of Scripture reminds us that we are blessed by putting our trust and confidence in the Lord. By turning to the Lord in prayer, we acknowledge our dependence on Him. When we don’t pray to Him, it is the same as saying we don’t need Him, which is untrue because He is all we need.
When you pray Jeremiah 17:7, ask the Lord to be your confidence in your time of anxiety. Tell the Lord that you trust in Him and are confident in His ability, power, and comfort. As you pray, you will feel the anxiety lessen, and you will be able to start feeling more comfortable. God is always there for us, as He is only a prayer away. He longs to fill our hearts and souls with His comfort, love, and peace. Anxiety is the exact opposite of peace, and God desires to rid our hearts of anxiety as we look to Him.
While our anxiety this holiday season may not be fully eradicated, we can pray these Scriptures to help ease our fears amid the bustling season. God is faithful, and He hears each of our prayers. The Lord desires to give you the comfort and peace you are seeking. The holiday season is overwhelming for many of us; therefore, know that you are not alone in this struggle with anxiety. Many Christians experience the same troubles. The important thing to remember is to always turn to God in prayer and tell him our anxieties. The Lord will walk with us through every anxious thought and feeling.
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