This list gives you Bible verses to help you encourage others, whether that means a friend who is struggling, a coworker who is discouraged, a child who needs a word of hope, or a fellow believer who has lost heart. Each verse is paired with a short reflection and one practical way to carry it into your day. What these passages share is a simple truth: encouragement is not a feeling you wait for, but a practice of noticing people and speaking life into them.
Verses for the Friend Who Is Struggling
Some people you love are carrying more than they can say out loud. These verses speak to the moment when someone is weighed down and needs to hear that they are not alone, and they give you words to offer without needing to fix everything.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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Paul calls believers to carry one another’s burdens, which means encouragement is often a matter of showing up. Send a message this week asking your struggling friend what one part of their load you could take on, even something small like a meal or a ride.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
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This verse asks you to share both joy and sorrow with others. When a friend shares bad news, resist the urge to hurry toward advice, and instead sit with them in it, letting them know their pain matters to you.
Isaiah 41:10
Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
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God speaks directly to the fearful in this passage, promising his presence and strength. You can pass this promise along by writing it on a card for someone who is anxious, reminding them that their fear does not have the last word.
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
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The psalmist tells us the Lord draws near to the brokenhearted. When someone is grieving, do not worry about finding the perfect words. Simply draw near to them yourself, with a quiet visit, a hug, or a phone call.
Verses for Those Who Feel Overlooked or Discouraged
Discouragement often shows up quietly, in the coworker who stopped speaking up in meetings or the neighbor who seems to be fading from view. These passages remind us that God sees people clearly, and they point us toward the small, specific words that can help someone feel seen again.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
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Paul urges believers to build one another up, a phrase that suggests patient, steady work rather than a single dramatic gesture. Choose one person this week and name a specific strength you have noticed in them, then tell them directly.
Hebrews 10:24
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works…
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The writer encourages believers to consider how to stir one another toward love and good works. Think of someone whose effort often goes unnoticed, and find a way to point out what they are doing well, making it specific rather than general.
Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
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Pleasant words are compared here to honey, sweet to the soul and healing to the body. Before you send a critical comment or a quick complaint, ask whether you could offer a kind word instead, even if the matter still needs addressing later.
Colossians 3:12
Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance…
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This passage describes the clothing of God’s chosen people as compassion, kindness, humility, and patience. Practice one of these with someone who has been difficult to be around, perhaps by offering patience in a conversation you would normally rush through.
Verses for Encouraging Believers in Their Faith
Fellow Christians sometimes need reminders of what God has already promised them, especially when faith feels thin or prayers seem unanswered. These verses give you a way to point others back to God’s faithfulness and to the hope they share in Christ.
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
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The writer urges believers to encourage one another every day so that none of them is hardened by sin’s deceit. Make it a habit to send one short encouraging note to a fellow believer each week, keeping your church community connected.
Romans 15:5
Now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus…
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Paul prays that God, the source of endurance and encouragement, would help believers live in harmony. When you see disagreement among friends, you can pray this verse over them, asking God to bring unity rather than division.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
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Paul describes God as the one who comforts us so that we can comfort others. Think back to a hard season you survived, and let that experience shape how you reach out to someone walking through something similar now.
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 God, who began a good work in believers, will carry it on to completion. Remind a friend who feels they are failing spiritually that God is still at work in them, and that growth takes time.
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
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This verse asks that no unwholesome talk come from our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. Before you speak in a group this week, pause and ask whether your words will give grace to those listening.
Verses for Moments of Ordinary Kindness
Encouragement does not always happen in crisis. Often it looks like a note on a kitchen table, a text sent on a Tuesday afternoon, or a patient reply to a question someone has asked three times. These passages honor those everyday acts and show how God values them.
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
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Paul asks believers to be kind and tenderhearted toward one another, forgiving as God forgave them. Let kindness be your default in traffic, at the grocery store, or with a difficult family member, and notice how it changes the tone of the day.
Matthew 25:40
“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
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Jesus teaches that what is done for the least of his brothers and sisters is done for him. Look for one overlooked person this week, a cashier or a new neighbor, and treat them as someone Christ cares about deeply.
Proverbs 3:27
Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
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This proverb tells us not to withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is within our power to act. If you have been meaning to write an encouraging letter or make a call, do it today rather than waiting for the perfect moment.
Acts 4:36
Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race…
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Barnabas earned the name meaning son of encouragement, showing that a person can become known for lifting others up. Ask yourself how others might describe the way you treat them, and let that question guide your next conversation.
Galatians 5:13
For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
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Paul reminds believers that freedom is meant to be used for serving one another in love. When you feel tempted to stay in your comfort zone, choose one act of service this week that costs you a little time or convenience.
How to Use These Verses
Write a few of these verses on index cards or in a notes app on your phone, and keep them where you will see them before a conversation you are dreading or a day when someone you love is struggling. Reading one verse before you text a friend or walk into a meeting can shift your attention from yourself to the person in front of you.
Pray these verses over specific people by name. Read the passage slowly, then ask God to help that person feel the truth of it, and to show you what encouragement would look like for them today. Over time, you will find that praying for others makes it easier to speak to them with honesty and warmth.
A Short Prayer for Others
Lord, you have shown me how much you care for people through the way you comfort, guide, and strengthen them. Help me notice the people around me who are tired, discouraged, or quietly hoping for a kind word. Give me the courage to speak up when encouragement is needed, and the wisdom to choose words that build others up rather than tear them down. Let my kindness point them toward your faithfulness, which never fails. Amen.
