41 Bible Verses about Watchfulness, Of Believers

Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

And beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

And Jesus answered them, See that no one deceive you: for many shall come in my name saying, I am the Christ, and shall deceive many.

And therefore as He was giving them a charge, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod,

Now I exhort you, brethren, to mark those who cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned:

Be watchful, stand fast in the faith, behave like men, be strong:

Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the body is weak.

And He said unto them, See to it that ye beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of his possessions.

Then said He to the disciples, It is impossible that offences should not come: but wo to him by whom they come. It were better for him that a milstone were hung about his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to offend. Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

Wherefore let him, that thinks he standeth, take heed least he fall.

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in any fault, do ye, who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, least thou also shouldst be tempted.

For this reason we ought the more earnestly to attend to what we have heard, least by any means we should be found deficient.

See that ye reject not Him that speaketh; for if they escaped not, who rejected him that gave forth divine oracles on earth, much less shall we, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven:

We have also the more sure word of the prophets, to which ye do well to attend, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, till the day dawn, and the morning-star rise in your hearts:

If any among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his heart, this man's devotion is vain.

So the tongue is a small part of the body, yet boasteth great things. Behold how much fuel a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our several parts, defiling the whole body, inflaming the course of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of wild beasts, and birds, and reptiles, and fishes, is tamed and hath been tamed by mankind:read more.
but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

"For he that would desire life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile;

And there was a man at Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and he was a just and a religious man, who expected the consolation of Israel; and the holy Spirit was upon him.

Persevere in prayer, and be watchful in it, with thanksgiving. Praying at the same time for us also, that God would open to us a door of utterance, to declare the mystery of Christ, for which also I am in bonds: that I may make it manifest, as I ought.

Take heed therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is:

Watch therefore and be constant in prayer, that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these things, which shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

praying at all seasons with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance, and intercession for all the saints;

But the end of all things draws nigh: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer:

Watch therefore, for ye know not at what hour your Lord cometh: but this ye know, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broke open: therefore be ye also ready; for the Son of man cometh at a time that ye think not of.

Then will the kingdom of heaven be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom: and five of them were wise, and five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps, and took no oil with them:read more.
but the wise took oil in their vessels as well as in their lamps. Now while the bridegroom stayed, they were all drowsy and fell asleep: and in the middle of the night there was a cry, The bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him. Then all the virgins rose up and trimmed their lamps: and the foolish ones said to the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out: but the wise answered them, saying, Least there should not be enough for us and you, go rather to them that sell it, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding-feast, and then the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us: but he answered them, Verily I declare unto you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for ye know not the day, nor the season in which the Son of man cometh.

But of THAT day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. Take heed therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is: as a man travelling abroad, who left his house, and gave charge to his servants, to each his work, and bid the porter be watchful.read more.
Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house cometh: (in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning:) least coming on a sudden he should find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all, Watch.

Let your loins be girt, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like men waiting for their lord's return from a wedding, that they may immediately open the door to him, when he comes and knocks. Happy are those servants, whom the master when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down, and will come and serve them.read more.
And if he come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them so, happy indeed are those servants. And this ye know, that if the master of a house had known at what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broke open: therefore be ye also ready; for the Son of man cometh at a season that ye think not of.

Verily I tell you, this generation shall not pass away till all be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Take heed to yourselves, least at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of life, and so that day should come upon you unawares:read more.
for as a snare shall it come upon all that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore and be constant in prayer, that ye may be counted worthy to escape all these things, which shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

But ye, my brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should seize you as a thief: ye are all children of the light, and of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep like others, but let us watch and be sober:read more.
for they, that sleep, sleep in the night; and drunkards are drunk in the night: but let us, who are of the day, be sober; putting on the breast-plate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation.

"Behold, I come as a thief: blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, that he may not walk naked, and his shame be seen."

and be always ready to answer every one that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and reverence:

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise men: redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with discretion to know how ye ought to answer every one.

Then went Jesus with them to a place called Gethsemane, and saith to the disciples, Sit here, while I go there and pray: and having taken with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to be sorrowful and much distressed; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death, stay here and watch with me.read more.
And going a little farther, He prostrated himself, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And coming to the disciples, he findeth them asleep, and saith to Peter, what! could ye not watch with me one hour?

And therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the houshold of faith.

Admonish them to be submissive to governors and magistrates, to obey their orders, and to be ready to every good work;

and from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

and they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath-day, that they might accuse Him.

but Saul was apprised of their design. And they watched the gates day and night, to make away with him:

be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect in the sight of God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent: for if thou be not watchful, I will come upon thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come upon thee.