When life hits hard, you do not always have time to search. This list is sorted by what people go through, so you can find a promise of God in the King James Version fast and hold on to it.
Each verse is printed in full from the KJV, followed by one short line in plain words. The verses come from all over the Bible, Old Testament and New. Some were first spoken to one person, like Joshua or Israel, and we say so where it matters.
Jump to a need:
When you are afraid or in danger
When fear takes over
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.
Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)
God gives five reasons not to fear in one breath, and every one of them is about Him, not you.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9 (KJV)
Spoken to Joshua before a war. The courage came from where God would be, which was everywhere he went.
What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Psalm 56:3 (KJV)
David did not say he was never afraid. He said what he would do when he was.
When you feel unsafe
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Psalm 121:7-8 (KJV)
Going out and coming in covers your whole day, from the front door in the morning to the front door at night.
The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
Psalm 34:7 (KJV)
Encampeth is a word for an army setting up camp. Around you is where it pitches its tents.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
Psalm 91:11 (KJV)
A comfort to rest in, never a dare to test. Jesus refused to use this verse that way.
More: God's promises of protection.
When you are tired or worried
When you have nothing left
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Isaiah 40:29 (KJV)
The promise is aimed at the faint, so running on empty does not disqualify you. It qualifies you.
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
To wait upon the Lord is to look to Him and lean on Him, not to sit and do nothing.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)
Paul asked for his weakness to be taken away. God gave him grace inside it instead.
More: promises of God for strength.
When your mind will not settle
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3 (KJV)
Stayed means propped up, leaning. A mind that leans on God is kept in peace.
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.
John 14:27 (KJV)
Jesus said this hours before His arrest. He gave peace on the worst night of His disciples' lives.
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.
Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)
Trade the worry for a request, add thanks, and God's peace stands guard over your heart.
More: God's promises of peace.
When you are hurting
When you are grieving
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalm 34:18 (KJV)
Nigh means near. When your heart breaks, God does not step back. He comes closer.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4 (KJV)
Jesus called mourners blessed, not because loss is good, but because comfort is sure.
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalm 30:5 (KJV)
The night can be long. It is still a night, and morning is promised.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
The last word about tears is that God Himself will wipe them away.
More: promises of God for comfort.
When you are sick
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psalm 103:2-3 (KJV)
David told his own soul to remember who God is. Forgiving and healing sit side by side.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
James 5:15 (KJV)
James tells the sick to call the elders of the church to pray. Asking for prayer is part of the promise.
A gentle word. Standing on God's promises goes hand in hand with good care. Keep seeing your doctor, take what you have been prescribed, and talk to someone you trust. If healing is slow, that is never proof that your faith was too small. The people of the Bible waited too.
More: God's promises for healing.
When you feel alone
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (KJV)
Moses said this to all Israel before they crossed over. God goes with you, not ahead and gone.
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Psalm 27:10 (KJV)
Even when the people who should never leave do, the Lord takes you up.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:20 (KJV)
The last words of Matthew's Gospel are a promise of company that lasts to the end.
Read the verses around each one
A list is a starting point, not the whole story. Every verse here sits inside a chapter, spoken to someone, at a certain moment.
When a promise speaks to you, open your Bible and read the chapter it came from. Ask who God was talking to and whether He asked anything of them. That takes five minutes and it keeps you from claiming too little or too much. Our guide to the promises of God to us shows how to tell which promises are spoken to believers today.
When you need something from God
When money is short
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
Paul wrote this to a church that had sent him gifts more than once. Supply is measured by God's riches, not by your bank balance.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 (KJV)
Jesus was talking about food and clothes. Put God first and He takes responsibility for the rest.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 (KJV)
No good thing is held back from those who walk uprightly. You can trust God with what counts as good.
More: God's promises for provision.
When you need direction
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Bring God into all of it, not just the big choices, and He will make the road straight.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psalm 32:8 (KJV)
A guide who teaches, not just a map. God shows the way and watches you walk it.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5 (KJV)
Upbraideth not means He will not scold you for asking. Wisdom is a gift, freely given.
When you need God to answer
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Matthew 7:7 (KJV)
Three verbs, three promises. Keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking.
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)
Spoken to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the prison. God still answered him there.
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Psalm 50:15 (KJV)
The day of trouble is exactly the day God says to call.
When your soul needs it most
When guilt will not let go
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)
God invites you to talk it through with Him. Even sins that look like a deep red stain, He makes white as snow.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12 (KJV)
East and west never meet. That is how far God moves your sins away from you.
When temptation is strong
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
Two promises: you are not alone in it, and there is always a way out. Look for the door.
When you think about forever
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16 (KJV)
The widest door in the Bible. Whosoever leaves no one outside who will believe.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
John 11:25 (KJV)
Jesus said this to Martha, four days after her brother was laid in the grave, shortly before He called him out of the tomb.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2 (KJV)
If heaven were not real, Jesus said, He would have told you. He went ahead to get it ready.
More: Bible promises of salvation.
For your family, and for the waiting
When you pray for your children
And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Isaiah 54:13 (KJV)
First spoken to Zion, God's people, a picture of children taught by God Himself, with peace to match.
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Acts 16:31 (KJV)
Paul and Silas said this to a jailer at midnight. That same night his whole household believed.
More: promises of God for family.
When the answer is slow
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9 (KJV)
Due season means the right time, not the time we would have picked. Keep doing good.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Lamentations 3:25 (KJV)
Written as a lament over fallen Jerusalem. Even there, the writer could say God is good to those who wait.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isaiah 43:2 (KJV)
Not that you will avoid the water or the fire, but that you will not go through them alone.
How to use this list
Pick the one need that is loudest right now and read the verses under it slowly, out loud if you can. Choose the one that grips you. Write it on a card or save it on your phone. Then turn it into a short prayer in your own words, for example: Lord, You said You would strengthen me and help me. I need that help today.
Come back tomorrow and do the same with that same verse. A promise sinks in through repeating it, not through reading forty at once. When you are ready for more, our pages on what the promises of God are and how God keeps His promises will help you read them well.
Read them one at a time
This list is sorted by need. The Every Promise of God books do something different: they read the Bible in order and give each promise its own page, so you see who it was made to and why. Book One covers Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus.