The best Bible verses for prayer (ESV) include passages about God's love, strength, and guidance. This page features 15+ carefully curated Scripture passages for prayer (ESV), each selected for its relevance and depth. Read, save, and share the perfect verse for your situation.
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."Philippians 4:6
"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."Philippians 4:6
"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."James 5:16
"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us."1 John 5:14
"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."Jeremiah 33:3
"“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."Matthew 7:7
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."Romans 8:26
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."Mark 11:24
"praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,"Ephesians 6:18
"And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart."Luke 18:1
"When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles."Psalms 34:17
"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."2 Chronicles 7:14
Occasions ask something specific of scripture. A verse chosen for prayer (ESV) is usually going to be read aloud, printed in a program, or spoken to someone at a moment they will remember for a long time — which rules out passages that need three sentences of setup before they land.
These 15 are the verses most often chosen for prayer (ESV), and they are chosen for good reason: each one makes sense on first hearing, carries its meaning without commentary, and speaks to the moment rather than around it.
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The most-cited Bible verses for prayer (ESV) are Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 6:9. This page collects 15 of them, each with its full passage, context and the text in six translations.
Read the verse in its surrounding passage before you use it — a verse that fits in isolation sometimes says something different in context. Compare two translations where the wording is unclear, and pick for the person who will read it rather than for the theme.
Scripture returns to prayer (ESV) across both testaments rather than settling it in one passage, which is why the verses on this page do not all say the same thing. Read together they give a fuller answer than any single verse does.
There is no single best translation. The NIV and NLT read most naturally and communicate well to someone outside the church; the ESV and NASB stay closer to the original wording; the KJV carries the phrasing most people recognise. Every verse here links to a page showing all six side by side.
More than any page can list. This one carries the 15 that are most often turned to for prayer (ESV), chosen so each stands on its own and links through to the full chapter it belongs to.