Having trouble trying to find the words to encourage others? Use these 10 Bible verses about encouraging others to help you.
Everyone needs a little encouragement in their lives.
To those going through difficult times, encouragement can be a lifeline.
If your life is going pretty well, encouraging words from others can still lift your mood and put a smile on your face.
In life, we often look for the “big things” that will fix our troubles in life, but in my experience, it is the little things that hold the utmost importance.
Encouragement is such a vital thing that we need in our life and a beautiful way to speak life into others.
Even doing something as simple as telling a loved one “I’m so glad you are in my life” can change the entire course of their day.
In Scripture, encouraging others is a key theme that the Gospels portray.
The point of coming together and helping each other get through life is so essential to being a follower of Christ. It is a wonderful way to remind others of their identity, their purpose, and to point them back to Jesus.
In Christ, individual struggles and just day-to-day life become so much more bearable, purposeful, and enjoyable when you have the body of believers helping you along the way and encouraging you through each step.
Your voice matters and Scripture shows us how to use it in a way that reflects the Lord.
See what the Bible says about encouraging others in the 10 verses below.
Scriptures On Encouraging Others
1. Romans 1:11-12 – Encouraged By Faith
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
Romans 1:11-12
Paul’s words are so warm here and you can just feel how deeply he cares for the people in the church in Rome.
He longs to see them, strengthen them, and encourage them.
Here, Paul talks specifically about how important faith is in encouragement.
Seeing others’ faith in how they live, and trusting the Lord in big and small things, in ways we may not have thought of ourselves, can help us see new levels of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
2. Romans 15:2 – Build Others Up
Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.
Romans 15:2
Paul encourages Christians here to live, not just considering themselves and their needs, but others, as well.
Build others up.
In verses 5-7, Paul says “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:5-7 NIV).
As God gives you encouragement, share that encouragement with others. Remind them that their strength comes from the Lord.
3. 2 Corinthians 1:4-5 – Comfort Others With The Comfort You’ve Received From God
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
2 Corinthians 1:4-5
God has provided us the perfect role model in Jesus to learn how to be an encourager – to be gentle, kind, comforting, and compassionate.
Our God is the ultimate example of showing compassion and providing comfort. When we are going through times of trouble or doubt, He will be here to comfort us.
With that comfort we receive from God, we can then comfort others who are going through hard times.
Maybe that is through practical ways like bringing them dinner or inviting them over to spend time together. Perhaps it is you praying for them and reminding them that God is here with them even now in the tough times.
A woman in my church recently told me that my sister-in-law was such a source of comfort to her when their baby was born and they had to be in the NICU with her for weeks. When I brought it up to my sister-in-law, she was floored because she thought she’d done so little by “just” bringing her dinner and checking in on her during that time.
What may seem like a small way to offer comfort to you may be a lifeline to the person going through a tough time.
4. Galatians 6:2 – Carry Each Other’s Burdens
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
No one likes going through hard things, especially alone.
Come alongside someone who is going through something rough and help them carry their burdens (side note – you can still carry someone else’s burdens with boundaries).
Mourn with those who mourn. Send them a card. Check in on them. Send a text. Marco Polo them. Pray for them.
When you’re going through a really tough time, it can be so hard to see the world moving on like nothing is happening. Be the person to see them in their suffering and take the time to stop and just be there with them.
Helping others to carry their burdens will encourage them that they can get through it and help them experience more joy along the way.
5. Ephesians 4:29 – Speak Things That Are Helpful
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29
Our words are powerful – they hold the power of life and death.
I don’t know if you have ever heard the toothpaste bottle analogy (once the toothpaste is squeezed out of the bottle, it is really hard to put 100% of it all back in), but that’s just like how it goes when words come out of our mouths.
Once we say something, it is out there and we cannot take it back.
Words are memorable and powerful (especially to a words of affirmation person like myself!), so be intentional about using your words to speak life.
Use your words to encourage others and lift them up as a practical way to share God’s love.
Tell people they matter. They are loved, just as they are.
Whether you speak words directly to them, write them in a card, or type them out in a text or email, speak life to the people in your life.
6. Philippians 2:3-4 – Humbly Value Others
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3-4
My best friend is a master of this skill of being genuinely interested in whatever topic is discussed – not because she cares about the topic but because she cares about the person speaking.
Whether the person is talking about weight loss, roofing, or fashion, she is just as invested in the conversation.
Encourage others by looking at their interests. It is a really powerful way to show you genuinely value them.
Everybody needs a reminder of how valued they truly are.
7. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 – We Are Not Done Yet
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Paul wrote this to remind people that the Lord’s return is encouraging.
In the verses before this, it reads, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NIV).
This is encouragement – The Lord will return to earth and we will go to heaven to be with Him forever.
Knowing that our life will not end on this earth, that we will be with God forever.
We’re not there yet. We are not whole yet.
There will be suffering, people will let us down, we will feel like giving up, and we won’t feel entirely content until we are with Jesus.
That day may not be today, but we have unfailing, unchanging hope of what is coming.
8. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Encourage One Another
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Paul is writing to the Thessalonians here.
In verses 9-11 he says “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Keep encouraging each other.
As BibleRef.com says it, “In the meantime we should help one another become more like Jesus and better equipped to serve Him.”
His grace is enough, His sacrifice for our sins is enough, He is enough for us.
9. Hebrews 10:24-25 – Do Not Give Up Meeting Together
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24-25
Meeting together with others is so important for encouragement.
Meeting together makes it easier to keep up with each other’s lives, know what others are struggling with, know how to pray for them, and just be there “doing life” together.
Consider ways you can spur someone in your life on toward love and good deeds today.
10. 1 Peter 4:8 – Love Each Other Deeply
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
We can encourage one another by loving deeply and genuinely.
Maybe loving someone deeply today means forgiving them.
Perhaps it means asking them a question deeper than the typical small talk of, “How are you?”
Maybe it means praying for them, showing up to their kid’s soccer game, or inviting them over for dinner.
Prayer has been so important for me to love others deeply. The more I pray for them, the more I think of the details of their lives, stir up curiosity and ask them follow-up questions, and the more I see the reflection of God in who they are.
How can you take your love for someone in your life one level deeper today?