Answer me when I call, my saving God.
When troubles hem me in, set me free;
take pity on me, hear my prayer.
7 Powerful Psalms to Treat Anxious Thoughts
One of the best remedies for combatting anxious thoughts is to read the Word of God. The Psalms in particular are known for being a healing balm for the mind when we can’t seem to get our racing thoughts under control. This is because the psalmists experienced everything we experience and thus, being divinely inspired, have the most perfect prayers for us to emulate.
If you have been wrestling with anxious thoughts lately, do not delay in prayerfully meditating on these 7 Powerful Psalms to Treat Anxious Thoughts. As you do, read them through slowly first and then go over them again only this time making them your own. God does incredible things when we pray this way, healing not only our anxious thoughts but our hearts and minds as well.
7 Powerful Psalms to Treat Anxious Thoughts
Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-9
Answer me when I call, my saving God.
When troubles hem me in, set me free;
take pity on me, hear my prayer.
Know that the Lord works wonders for His faithful one;
the Lord hears when I call out to Him.
Many say, “May we see better times!
Lord, show us the light of Your face!”
Selah
But You have given my heart more joy
than they have when grain and wine abound.
In peace I will lie down and fall asleep,
for You alone, Lord, make me secure.
Psalm 27:1, 3-8, 13-14
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
even then do I trust.
One thing I ask of the Lord;
this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
to visit his temple.
For God will hide me in his shelter
in time of trouble,
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
and set me high upon a rock.
Even now my head is held high
above my enemies on every side!
I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.
Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.
“Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;
your face, Lord, do I seek!
I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord, take courage;
be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!
Psalm 56:2-5, 10-14
Have mercy on me, God,
for I am treated harshly;
attackers press me all the day.
My foes treat me harshly all the day;
yes, many are my attackers.
O Most High, when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust.
I praise the word of God;
I trust in God, I do not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?
My foes turn back when I call on you.
This I know: God is on my side.
I praise the word of God,
I praise the word of the Lord.
In God I trust, I do not fear.
What can man do to me?
I have made vows to you, God;
with offerings I will fulfill them,
For you have snatched me from death,
kept my feet from stumbling,
That I may walk before God
in the light of the living.
Psalm 57:2-4, 8-12
Have mercy on me, God,
have mercy on me.
In you I seek refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I seek refuge
till harm pass by.
I call to God Most High,
to God who provides for me.
May God send help from heaven to save me,
shame those who trample upon me.
May God send fidelity and mercy.
Selah
My heart is steadfast, God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
I will praise you among the peoples, Lord;
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Exalt yourself over the heavens, God;
may your glory appear above all the earth.
Psalm 25:1-21
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced;
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
No one is disgraced who waits for you,
but only those who are treacherous without cause.
Make known to me your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.
Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.
Remember your compassion and your mercy, O Lord,
for they are ages old.
Remember no more the sins of my youth;
remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.
For the sake of your name, Lord,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
Who is the one who fears the Lord?
God shows him the way he should choose.
He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The counsel of the Lord belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
who frees my feet from the snare.
Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.
See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.
Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O Lord.
Psalm 42
As the deer longs for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When can I enter and see the face of God?
My tears have been my bread day and night,
as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?”
Those times I recall
as I pour out my soul,
When I would cross over to the shrine of the Mighty One,
to the house of God,
Amid loud cries of thanksgiving,
with the multitude keeping festival.
Why are you downcast, my soul;
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I remember you
From the land of the Jordan and Hermon,
from Mount Mizar,
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your torrents,
and all your waves and breakers
sweep over me.
By day may the Lord send his mercy,
and by night may his righteousness be with me!
I will pray to the God of my life,
I will say to God, my rock:
“Why do you forget me?
Why must I go about mourning
with the enemy oppressing me?”
It shatters my bones, when my adversaries reproach me,
when they say to me every day: “Where is your God?”
Why are you downcast, my soul,
why do you groan within me?
Wait for God, for I shall again praise him,
my savior and my God.
Psalm 46
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken
and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Though its waters rage and foam
and mountains totter at its surging.
Selah
Streams of the river gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken;
God will help it at break of day.
Though nations rage and kingdoms totter,
he utters his voice and the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
Come and see the works of the Lord,
who has done fearsome deeds on earth;
Who stops wars to the ends of the earth,
breaks the bow, splinters the spear,
and burns the shields with fire;
“Be still and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
exalted on the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Selah
*Many of these Psalm verses were also recommended by St. Arsenios of Cappadocia to treat depression.
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