This list gives you Scripture to read, write and pray as you mark an anniversary, whether it is one year of marriage or fifty. It is written for couples, families and friends who want their celebration to rest on God’s faithfulness rather than only on the calendar. The verses here share a common thread: they look back with thanks, look around at the people God has given, and look forward with trust that the same faithful God will carry the next season.
Verses of Thanksgiving for the Years Behind You
Anniversaries invite a backward glance. These passages help you name what God has done across the seasons you have walked through, the lean years and the good ones alike, so that gratitude becomes specific rather than vague.
Psalm 107:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
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Thanksgiving is a deliberate act, and this psalm opens with it. On your anniversary, try naming three specific kindnesses God has shown in the years you have shared, and say them aloud over dinner before anyone reaches for dessert.
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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Written in grief, these lines still hold out daily mercy. Sit with the word “morning” for a moment and remember that each new day of your life together is another gift, not an obligation you have earned.
Deuteronomy 8:2
You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not.
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Moses reminds Israel to remember the long road God led them along. Look over your shared history the way this verse invites, and write one sentence about a hard season that God used to shape you both.
Psalm 136:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his loving kindness endures forever.
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This psalm repeats its refrain again and again, as if thanks should be spoken until it becomes a habit. Pick a short refrain of your own and repeat it together at the table to mark the day.
Verses on Faithfulness and Love That Lasts
A long-lasting love does not survive on feeling alone. The verses in this group point to a faithfulness that holds steady when emotions rise and fall, and they offer a pattern for the kind of commitment an anniversary celebrates.
Ecclesiastes 4:12
If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
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Solomon observes that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. On your anniversary, name the third strand in your life together, whether that is prayer, a church family or a shared faith, and thank God for holding you both.
1 Corinthians 13:7
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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Paul describes a love that bears, believes, hopes and endures. Read it slowly with your spouse or friend and choose one of those four verbs to practice in the coming year, perhaps through a small act of patience each morning.
Ruth 1:16
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.
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Ruth’s words to Naomi are among the most committed promises in Scripture. If you are celebrating a friendship or family bond, consider writing a short version of her pledge in your own words and signing it with the date.
Psalm 103:17
But the LORD’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children…
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The psalmist speaks of God’s love lasting from everlasting to everlasting. Let this verse steady you when the years feel long, and remind each other that your commitment rests on a love far older than either of you.
Verses for Looking Ahead in Hope
An anniversary is also a doorway. These passages turn your attention toward the years still ahead, grounding your hopes in God’s unchanging character and in the promise that he is not finished with you.
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 spoke these words to exiles who could not see their future clearly. Carry this promise into the next year by writing one hope you share as a couple or family and placing it somewhere you will see often.
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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God announces that he is doing a new thing. Ask yourselves what new thing you sense him beginning in your life together, and jot down one small step you could take toward it this month.
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 expresses confidence that the God who began a good work will complete it. Use this verse as the closing thought of your celebration, reminding each other that your story is still unfolding under his care.
Lamentations 3:23
They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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Because this verse appeared earlier, consider instead the companion truth in Psalm 121:8, which promises that the Lord watches over your coming and going. Pray that he keeps watch over every new year you enter together.
Psalm 121:8
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.
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The psalm closes with a promise of protection on every journey. Before you blow out a candle or raise a glass, ask God to guard your going out and coming in throughout the year ahead.
How to Use These Verses
Choose two or three verses from this list and write them on a card, in a card for your spouse or friend, or on the back of a photograph from your years together. Keeping the words in a place you will see again, such as a kitchen drawer or a bedside table, lets the Scripture work quietly over the months that follow rather than only on the day itself.
Read the chosen passages aloud during the celebration, perhaps before a meal or a toast. Take turns reading, then pause and let each person say one sentence about what the verse means to them. You can close by praying the verses back to God, using their language as the foundation of your own words.
A Short Prayer for an Anniversary Celebration
Lord, thank you for the years you have given us and for every season you have carried us through. Thank you for the faithfulness you have shown when we were weak, and for the love you have placed between us. Help us to remember your kindness, to honor the commitments we have made, and to trust you with the days still ahead. Keep us steady, keep us grateful, and let our life together point others back to you. Amen.
