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66 Bible verses about the power of Fasting
The power of fasting really lies in honestly opening your heart to the Lord. It's in that space where His love shines through and transforms every part of who you are. Fasting is something you do when you’re truly seeking Jesus, when you're willing to sacrifice physical needs to ask for a deeper connection with Him.
It strengthens your spirit, grows your faith, and draws you closer to God. By saying "no" to the physical demands of your body, you're saying "yes" to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. It's about prioritizing that connection above all else.
When you abstain from food or drink for a set time, it’s like a spiritual and physical cleanse. It helps to clear away anything that might be holding you back or weighing you down.
Remember what Matthew 6:16-171 says – it's not about showing off or seeking attention when you fast. It's about humility and sincerity before the Lord.
But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
Then the man said to me, “Daniel, do not be afraid. Some time ago you decided to get understanding and to humble yourself before your God. Since that time God has listened to you, and I have come because of your prayers.
Call for a day when everyone fasts! Tell everyone to stop work! Bring the elders and everyone who lives in the land to the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes.
Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.”
This kind of special day is not what I want. This is not the way I want people to be sorry for what they have done. I don’t want people just to bow their heads like a plant and wear rough cloth and lie in ashes to show their sadness. This is what you do on your special days when you fast, but do you think this is what the Lord wants?
They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we fasted, but you didn’t see. We humbled ourselves to honor you, but you didn’t notice.’ ” But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days, and you are unfair to your workers.
“When you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward.
So when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
“I will tell you the kind of fast I want: Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains. Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labor.
Share your food with the hungry and bring poor, homeless people into your own homes. When you see someone who has no clothes, give him yours, and don’t refuse to help your own relatives.
The Lord says, “Even now, come back to me with all your heart. Fast, cry, and be sad.”
Tearing your clothes is not enough to show you are sad; let your heart be broken. Come back to the Lord your God, because he is kind and shows mercy. He doesn’t become angry quickly, and he has great love. He can change his mind about doing harm.
Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem; call for a day when everyone fasts. Tell everyone to stop work.
“I will tell you the kind of fast I want: Free the people you have put in prison unfairly and undo their chains. Free those to whom you are unfair and stop their hard labor.
The people of Nineveh believed God. They announced that they would fast for a while, and they put on rough cloth to show their sadness. All the people in the city did this, from the most important to the least important.
They were all worshiping the Lord and fasting for a certain time. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for which I have chosen them.”
All this happened in about four hundred fifty years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
Then the people asked for a king, so God gave them Saul son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and was king for forty years.
After God took him away, God made David their king. God said about him: ‘I have found in David son of Jesse the kind of man I want. He will do all I want him to do.’
So God has brought Jesus, one of David’s descendants, to Israel to be its Savior, as he promised.
Before Jesus came, John preached to all the people of Israel about a baptism of changed hearts and lives.
When he was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not the Christ. He is coming later, and I am not worthy to untie his sandals.’
“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and others who worship God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us.
Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. They did not understand the words that the prophets wrote, which are read every Sabbath day. But they made them come true when they said Jesus was guilty.
They could not find any real reason for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him killed.
When they had done to him all that the Scriptures had said, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.
So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Moses stayed there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and during that time he did not eat food or drink water. And Moses wrote the words of the Agreement—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
Yet when they were sick, I put on clothes of sadness and showed my sorrow by fasting. But my prayers were not answered.
They chose elders for each church, by praying and fasting for a certain time. These elders had trusted the Lord, so Paul and Barnabas put them in the Lord’s care.
There by the Ahava Canal, I announced we would all fast and deny ourselves before our God. We would ask God for a safe trip for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.
I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road. We had said to the king, “Our God helps everyone who obeys him, but he is very angry with all who reject him.”
So we fasted and prayed to our God about our trip, and he answered our prayers.
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. The Spirit led Jesus into the desert
It is written in the Scriptures: ‘He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you.’
It is also written: ‘They will catch you in their hands so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’ ”
Jesus answered, “But it also says in the Scriptures: ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ”
After the devil had tempted Jesus in every way, he left him to wait until a better time.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit, and stories about him spread all through the area.
He began to teach in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
Jesus traveled to Nazareth, where he had grown up. On the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as he always did, and stood up to read.
The book of Isaiah the prophet was given to him. He opened the book and found the place where this is written:
“The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly
and to announce the time when the Lord will show his kindness.”
where the devil tempted Jesus for forty days. Jesus ate nothing during that time, and when those days were ended, he was very hungry.
Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced that everyone in Judah should fast during this special time of prayer to God.
So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was not at war. His God gave him peace from all the countries around him.
Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
Jehoshaphat was good like his father Asa, and he did what the Lord said was right.
But the places where gods were worshiped were not removed, and the people did not really want to follow the God of their ancestors.
The other things Jehoshaphat did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are in the book of the kings of Israel.
Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made a treaty with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was a wrong thing to do.
Jehoshaphat agreed with Ahaziah to build trading ships, which they built in the town of Ezion Geber.
Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from the town of Mareshah spoke against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Jehoshaphat, because you joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked so they could not sail out to trade.
The people of Judah came together to ask the Lord for help; they came from every town in Judah.
Then the Israelites went up to Bethel. There they sat down and cried to the Lord and fasted all day until evening. They also brought burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.
Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other, unless you both agree to stay away from sexual relations for a time so you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again so Satan cannot tempt you because of a lack of self-control.
So the Israelites met together at Mizpah. They drew water from the ground and poured it out before the Lord and fasted that day. They confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel served as judge of Israel at Mizpah.
They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often fast for a certain time and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is still with them.
But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
“Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and cried in the fifth and seventh months, but that was not really for me.
When I heard these things, I sat down and cried for several days. I was sad and fasted. I prayed to the God of heaven,
Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced that everyone in Judah should fast during this special time of prayer to God.
“Tell the priests and the people in the land: ‘For seventy years you fasted and cried in the fifth and seventh months, but that was not really for me.
And when you ate and drank, it was really for yourselves.
You say, “What can I bring with me when I come before the Lord, when I bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand male sheep? Will he be pleased with ten thousand rivers of oil? Should I give my first child for the evil I have done? Should I give my very own child for my sin?”
The Lord has told you, human, what is good; he has told you what he wants from you: to do what is right to other people, love being kind to others, and live humbly, obeying your God.
Then the followers of John came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast for a certain time, but your followers don’t?”
Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.
So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.
Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give each other more honor than you want for yourselves.
Do not be lazy but work hard, serving the Lord with all your heart.
Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times.
Share with God’s people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your homes.
Wish good for those who harm you; wish them well and do not curse them.
Be happy with those who are happy, and be sad with those who are sad.
Live in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are.
If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right.
Do your best to live in peace with everyone.
My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you, but wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them,” says the Lord.
Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again. They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will walk and not become tired.
Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation. The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”
Yet when they were sick, I put on clothes of sadness and showed my sorrow by fasting. But my prayers were not answered.
I acted as if they were my friends or brothers. I bowed in sadness as if I were crying for my mother.
So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.
We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments
and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.
As a deer thirsts for streams of water, so I thirst for you, God.
My enemies’ insults make me feel as if my bones were broken. They are always saying, “Where is your God?”
Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Savior and my God.
I thirst for the living God. When can I go to meet with him?
We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back.
At that time I, Daniel, had been very sad for three weeks.
Then he said, “Daniel, do you know why I have come to you? Soon I must go back to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece will come,
but I must first tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one stands with me against these enemies except Michael, the angel ruling over your people.
I did not eat any fancy food or meat, or drink any wine, or use any perfumed oil for three weeks.
Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now.
In the end, they will be destroyed. They do whatever their bodies want, they are proud of their shameful acts, and they think only about earthly things.
So be ready all the time. Pray that you will be strong enough to escape all these things that will happen and that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.
Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again.
Do not send me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me.
Give me back the joy of your salvation. Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want.
Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.
There by the Ahava Canal, I announced we would all fast and deny ourselves before our God. We would ask God for a safe trip for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions.
So when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.
Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
“When you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward.
All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed.
So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air.
I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.
Then I turned to the Lord God and prayed and asked him for help. To show my sadness, I fasted, put on rough cloth, and sat in ashes.