The most popular Bible verse of 2024 is the perfect antidote to our anxious age

YouVersion’s most popular verse may be thousands of years old, but it speaks perfectly to the times we’re living in, observes Bible Society’s Rev Mark Woods 

YouVersion’s annual announcement of the most popular Bible verse is always interesting. The Bible reading platform has been downloaded 725 million times (yes, you read that right), so data like this can provide a genuine snapshot of what people around the world really want to hear from the Bible at a particular time.

The verse of the year

This year the verse users engaged with most was Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”. It’s a plain, straightforward piece of advice which might seem as trite as a Hallmark card if it weren’t for the story behind it. Paul wrote these words while he was in prison, either in Rome or Ephesus, facing hardship and possible execution. So the sweet simplicity of these words turns out to have been distilled from his experiences of brutal mistreatment, imprisonment, fear and danger. Furthermore, it’s not that he is looking back on all this from a safe distance: he’s still in the grip of the storm, the heart of the furnace, and he has no idea whether he’ll survive it or not.