This list gives you Bible verses to read, share and pray as you mark an anniversary, whether it is a wedding anniversary, a milestone of years in a ministry or a friendship that has lasted decades. Each verse points to God’s faithfulness across seasons, which is the heart of any celebration worth remembering. Together they turn a date on the calendar into a moment of thanks.
Verses to Give Thanks for the Years Behind You
Looking back on years together can bring up joy, grief and everything in between. These verses help you name what God has done before you celebrate what you have built. Read them slowly, and let each one remind you that the story is larger than any single year.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
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This is a simple call to thank God, and it fits an anniversary well. Before the cake or the toast, speak one specific thing you are grateful for from the past year. Saying it aloud makes the gratitude real for everyone present.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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These verses were written by someone in deep sorrow, yet they affirm that God’s mercies are new every morning. For a couple or a team marking years together, this is a reminder that faithfulness has been renewed again and again. Write the phrase “new every morning” on a card and place it where you will see it.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.
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The writer observes that two people working together have a better reward than one alone. Anniversaries honor partnerships, and this passage names why they endure. Take time to tell your companion one way they have helped you carry a heavy load.
Verses for Love That Keeps Choosing
Celebrating a long bond means recognizing that love is more than a feeling. These verses speak of commitment, patience and the daily decision to stay kind. They suit a wedding anniversary, but they also encourage any relationship marked by years of shared life.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; 6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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Paul describes love in concrete actions: patience, kindness, bearing all things. Many couples find this passage a useful examination of conscience on an anniversary. Pick one line and ask yourself where you have lived it well this year and where you could grow.
Song of Solomon 8:7
Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.
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This verse describes love as too strong for floods to drown it. It speaks to the resilience a long marriage or friendship has needed. Consider framing this verse as a gift, since it celebrates endurance as much as romance.
Ruth 1:16-17
16 Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
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Ruth’s pledge to Naomi is one of Scripture’s great statements of loyalty. Though not a wedding text, it honors the choice to remain with someone through every season. Share it with a friend or mentor whose loyalty has shaped your life.
Proverbs 31:10-12
10 Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
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This passage praises a spouse whose steady goodness brings security to the home. Read it together and name specific ways your partner has built trust and peace in your life. Specific praise tends to mean more than general compliments.
Verses for Hope and Renewal Ahead
An anniversary also looks forward. These verses encourage you to trust God with the years still to come, whether they hold adventure, rest or hard seasons you cannot yet see. They turn the celebration toward the next chapter with confidence.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
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God speaks to a exiled people of plans for their welfare and a future with hope. Many people find this verse a steady anchor when the road ahead is uncertain. Write your own hopes for the coming year beside it in a journal.
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
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This verse promises God’s presence through waters and fire, not an absence of trouble. It is fitting for those whose anniversaries have carried both joy and loss. Remember a past difficulty you survived together and thank God for walking through it with you.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
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Paul is confident that the God who began a good work will complete it. An anniversary is a natural moment to trust that the work of your relationship or ministry is still unfinished. Pray over this verse for the next year of growth.
Lamentations 3:24
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
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The same chapter that speaks of mercies renewed also says that the Lord is the portion the writer hopes in. This verse suits a moment of looking ahead with a settled heart. Let it shape how you plan the coming year.
How to Use These Verses
Choose three or four verses that speak most clearly to your anniversary and write them on a card for each person who will be present. Read them aloud during the meal, a toast or a family gathering, and invite others to share which verse meant the most to them. Keeping the cards afterward creates a record of what the celebration meant.
For private reflection, read one verse each morning during the week of your anniversary and spend a few minutes writing what it reveals about your years together. You might also pray through the verses with your companion, reading one aloud and then each taking a turn thanking God for something related to it. This turns the verses from reading into shared worship.
A Short Prayer for an anniversary celebration
Lord, thank you for the years you have given us and for every season we have walked through together. You have been faithful when we were not, and you have kept us when we were weary. Help us to honor the commitments we have made and to love well in the days ahead. Be the center of this celebration, and let our gratitude point back to you. Amen.
