7 Worship Songs to Help You Wage War Against Anxiety

If you struggle with anxiety and have moments where no amount of deep breathing or positive self-talk helps quiet the spiral in your mind, this blog post is for you. Worship has been one of the most powerful tools I've found to help me wage war against anxiety because it helps me redirect my focus from what I'm afraid of to who God is.

1. In the Room — Maverick City Music

When anxiety makes you feel completely alone in what you're navigating, this song is the reminder you need. What I love most about In the Room are the references to real biblical moments like Daniel in the lion's den and the Hebrew boys in the fire. Singing about God being in the room in both of those situations creates a shift that helps you remember that God is in the room with you too. The same God who showed up for Daniel, who showed up for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is in the room with you right now.

2. No One Beside — Elevation Worship

I wrote about this song in my post on catastrophizing and magnifying God, because the chorus "Oh magnify the Lord, let us exalt His name together" is pulled directly from Psalm 34:3. In anxious moments when my mind is zooming in on everything that could go wrong, this song is a deliberate act of redirecting my focus to magnifying the Lord instead of my problems.

There is something about singing those words out loud that interrupts the anxiety spiral in a way that thinking alone doesn't always manage. Put this one on when you need to be reminded of where your focus belongs.

3. More Than Able — Maverick City Music

The title alone is the reminder that God is more than able to handle whatever it is that is causing you to be anxious. He is more than able to make a way for you where there seems to be no way. He is more than able to do things that seem impossible to your human eyes. He is more than able!

This song is my go to when my anxiety is rooted in feeling helpless in front of a situation. It reorients my thoughts to the fact that the God I serve is bigger than any opposition I may face on this side of eternity.

4. Firm Foundation — Maverick City Music

This song reminds me of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:24-27 when He says: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Our houses (aka our lives) are built on the rock that is Jesus. Therefore when the rain and the floods (aka the storms of life) come our way, we will not fall because of who we are rooted in.

5. God Problems — Maverick City Music

This song helps me remember that some things are not mine to fix, but to surrender to the Lord because only He can fix them. So when I'm anxious because I feel like I've come against a boulder that I cannot move, this song helps me redirect my focus to asking God to take over and do what only He can do.

6. Mighty Name of Jesus — Hope Darst

What I love about this song is that it doesn't just talk about the name of Jesus, it invites you to declare it over the thing that is scaring you. There is power in the name of Jesus. We know that, and yet... in moments when we feel anxious, it's easy to forget that we can speak His name over the things we are anxious about instead of rehearsing them in our mind.

7. No Longer Slaves — Tasha Cobbs Leonard

I love this song because it speaks directly against fear. It reminds me that fear does not get to have the final word and that I'm not bound by it. This song is the perfect affirmation to speak over yourself when you're feeling anxious and to redirect your mind and your thoughts towards God instead of your fear.

The next time you feel anxious, I hope you come back to this list and find the song that meets you where you are. Worship won't always make the fear disappear immediately but it will position you in a place that helps you invite God into the situation causing you to be anxious.