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.
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?
“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.After removing Saul, He raised up David as their king and testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will carry out My will in its entirety.’ From the descendants of this man, God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised.Before the arrival of Jesus, John preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.As John was completing his course, he said, ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not that One. But He is coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ Brothers, children of Abraham, and you Gentiles who fear God, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent.The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.And though they found no ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have Him executed.When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, praying and fasting as they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.
And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of soldiers and horsemen to protect us from our enemies on the road, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who forsake Him.”So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He granted our request.
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You carefully;and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” But Jesus answered, “It also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding region.He taught in their synagogues and was glorified by everyone.Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read,the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the Lord. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.And Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.So the people of Judah gathered to seek the Lord, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the Lord. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.
Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
Then they said to Him, “John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees frequently fast and pray, but Yours keep on eating and drinking.”Jesus replied, “Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them?But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the Lord. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
With what shall I come before the Lord when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.
“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.But first I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. Yet no one has the courage to support me against these, except Michael your prince.I ate no rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I did not anoint myself with oil until the three weeks were completed.
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.