66 Bible Verses about Watchfulness, Of Believers

Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.

Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life.

"Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.

Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand?

Listen to my instruction so that you may be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching at my doors day by day, waiting beside my doorway.

Jesus answered them, "Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will mislead many.

And Jesus ordered them, "Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!"

Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them!

Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong.

Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Be very careful, then, because you saw no form at the time the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the middle of the fire.

and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, 'If your descendants watch their step and live faithfully in my presence with all their heart and being, then,' he promised, 'you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.'

Then he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Jesus said to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.

Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord's servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!"

Do the job the Lord your God has assigned you by following his instructions and obeying his rules, commandments, regulations, and laws as written in the law of Moses. Then you will succeed in all you do and seek to accomplish,

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven?

Moreover, we possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing. You do well if you pay attention to this as you would to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

So we prayed to our God and stationed a guard to protect against them both day and night.

I said to them, "The gates of Jerusalem must not be opened in the early morning, until those who are standing guard close the doors and lock them. Position residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their guard stations and some near their homes."

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David. I decided, "I will watch what I say and make sure I do not sin with my tongue. I will put a muzzle over my mouth while in the presence of an evil man."

O Lord, place a guard on my mouth! Protect the opening of my lips!

The one who guards his words guards his life, but whoever is talkative will come to ruin.

The one who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his life from troubles.

If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile.

So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence -- and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind.read more.
But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.

I continually look to the Lord for help, for he will free my feet from the enemy's net.

You are my source of strength! I will wait for you! For God is my refuge.

A song of ascents. I look up toward you, the one enthroned in heaven. Look, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female servant look to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes will look to the Lord, our God, until he shows us favor.

I rely on the Lord, I rely on him with my whole being; I wait for his assuring word. I yearn for the Lord, more than watchmen do for the morning, yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.

Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion! Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem! Shout, don't be afraid! Say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

But I will keep watching for the Lord; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will hear my lament.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon who was righteous and devout, looking for the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

Watch out! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time will come.

But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man."

With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.

For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.

"Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them.read more.
But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.' Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.' No,' they replied. 'There won't be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut. Later, the other virgins came too, saying, 'Lord, lord! Let us in!' But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I do not know you!' Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.

"But as for that day or hour no one knows it -- neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son -- except the Father. Watch out! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey. He left his house and put his slaves in charge, assigning to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert.read more.
Stay alert, then, because you do not know when the owner of the house will return -- whether during evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or at dawn -- or else he might find you asleep when he returns suddenly. What I say to you I say to everyone: Stay alert!"

"Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Blessed are those slaves whom their master finds alert when he returns! I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, have them take their place at the table, and will come and wait on them!read more.
Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves! But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. "But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.read more.
For it will overtake all who live on the face of the whole earth. But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man."

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. So then we must not sleep as the rest, but must stay alert and sober.read more.
For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.

(Look! I will come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition be seen.)

But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.

Therefore be very careful how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and became anguished and distressed. Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me."read more.
Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will." Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, "So, couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour?

So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work.

Evil men set an ambush for the godly and try to kill them.

So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.

Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!"

He waits in ambush near the villages; in hidden places he kills the innocent. His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.

I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, "Come on, let's publicly denounce him!" All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, "Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him.

They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.

but Saul learned of their plot against him. They were also watching the city gates day and night so that they could kill him.

Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Therefore, remember what you received and heard, and obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never know at what hour I will come against you.