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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.
Daniel, don't be afraid! God has listened to your prayers since the first day you humbly asked for understanding, and he has sent me here.
Tell the leaders and people to come together at the temple. Order them to go without eating and to pray sincerely.
Cornelius answered: Four days ago at about three o'clock in the afternoon I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in bright clothes stood in front of me.
Jesus answered: The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.
Do you think the LORD wants you to give up eating and to act as humble as a bent over bush? Or to dress in sackcloth and sit in ashes? Is this really what he wants on a day of worship?
You wonder why the LORD pays no attention when you go without eating and act humble. But on those same days that you give up eating, you think only of yourselves and abuse your workers.
The LORD said: It isn't too late. You can still return to me with all your heart. Start crying and mourning! Go without eating.
When you go without eating, don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward.Instead, comb your hair and wash your face.Then others won't know that you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.
I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!Share your food with everyone who is hungry; share your home with the poor and homeless. Give clothes to those in need; don't turn away your relatives.
The LORD said: It isn't too late. You can still return to me with all your heart. Start crying and mourning! Go without eating.Don't rip your clothes to show your sorrow. Instead, turn back to me with broken hearts. I am merciful, kind, and caring. I don't easily lose my temper, and I don't like to punish.
Sound the trumpet on Zion! Call the people together. Show your sorrow by going without food.
I'll tell you what it really means to worship the LORD. Remove the chains of prisoners who are chained unjustly. Free those who are abused!
They believed God's message and set a time when they would go without eating to show their sorrow. Then everyone in the city, no matter who they were, dressed in sackcloth.
While they were worshipping the Lord and going without eating, the Holy Spirit told them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them.”All this happened in about 450 years. Then God gave our people judges until the time of the prophet Samuel,but the people demanded a king. So for forty years God gave them King Saul, the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin.Later, God removed Saul and let David rule in his place. God said about him, “David the son of Jesse is the kind of person who pleases me most! He does everything I want him to do.” God promised that someone from David's family would come to save the people of Israel, and that one is Jesus.But before Jesus came, John was telling everyone in Israel to turn back to God and be baptized.Then, when John's work was almost done, he said, “Who do you people think I am? Do you think I am the Promised One? He will come later, and I am not good enough to untie his sandals.” Now listen, you descendants of Abraham! Pay attention, all you Gentiles who are here to worship God! Listen to this message about how to be saved, because it is for everyone.The people of Jerusalem and their leaders didn't realize who Jesus was. And they didn't understand the words of the prophets that they read each Sabbath. So they condemned Jesus just as the prophets had said.They did exactly what the Scriptures said they would. Even though they couldn't find any reason to put Jesus to death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed. After Jesus had been put to death, he was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb.Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.
Moses stayed on the mountain with the LORD for forty days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people.
Paul and Barnabas chose some leaders for each of the churches. Then they went without eating and prayed that the Lord would take good care of these leaders.
Beside the River Ahava, I asked the people to go without eating and to pray. We humbled ourselves and asked God to bring us and our children safely to Jerusalem with all our possessions.I was ashamed to ask the king to send soldiers and cavalry to protect us against enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God takes care of everyone who truly worships him, but that he gets very angry and punishes anyone who refuses to obey.So we went without food and asked God himself to protect us, and he answered our prayers.
When Jesus returned from the River Jordan, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert.The Scriptures say: ‘God will tell his angels to take care of you. They will catch you in their arms, and you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’ ”Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘Don't try to test the Lord your God!’ ” After the devil had finished testing Jesus in every way possible, he left him for a while.Jesus returned to Galilee with the power of the Spirit. News about him spread everywhere.He taught in the Jewish meeting places, and everyone praised him.Jesus went back to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as usual he went to the meeting place on the Sabbath. When he stood up to read from the Scriptures,he was given the book of Isaiah the prophet. He opened it and read,“The Lord's Spirit has come to me, because he has chosen me to tell the good news to the poor. The Lord has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners, to give sight to the blind, to free everyone who suffers,and to say, ‘This is the year the Lord has chosen.’ ”For forty days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating. When it was all over, he was hungry.
Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the LORD what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow.to invade Judah. The LORD let Jehoshaphat's kingdom be at peace.Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.Jehoshaphat obeyed the LORD, just as his father Asa had done,but he did not destroy the local shrines. So the people still worshipped foreign gods, instead of faithfully serving the God their ancestors had worshipped. Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king is written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani that are included in The History of the Kings of Israel.While Jehoshaphat was king, he signed a peace treaty with Ahaziah the wicked king of Israel.They agreed to build several seagoing ships at Ezion-Geber.But the prophet Eliezer warned Jehoshaphat, “The LORD will destroy these ships because you have supported Ahaziah.” The ships were wrecked and never sailed.They immediately left for Jerusalem to ask for the LORD's help.
The people of Israel went to the place of worship at Bethel, where the sacred chest was being kept. They sat on the ground, crying and not eating for the rest of the day. Then about sunset, they offered sacrifices to please the LORD and to ask his blessing. Phinehas the priest then prayed, “Our LORD, the people of Benjamin are our relatives. Should we stop fighting or attack them again?” “Attack!” the LORD answered. “Tomorrow I will let you defeat them.”
So don't refuse sex to each other, unless you agree not to have sex for a little while, in order to spend time in prayer. Then Satan won't be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the LORD. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the LORD.
Some people said to Jesus, “John's followers often pray and go without eating, and so do the followers of the Pharisees. But your disciples never go without eating or drinking.” Jesus told them, “The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them.But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.”
When I heard this, I sat down and cried. Then for several days, I mourned; I went without eating to show my sorrow, and I prayed:
Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he asked the LORD what to do. He then told the people of Judah to go without eating to show their sorrow.
What offering should I bring when I bow down to worship the LORD God Most High? Should I try to please him by sacrificing calves a year old?Will thousands of sheep or rivers of olive oil make God satisfied with me? Should I sacrifice to the LORD my firstborn child as payment for my terrible sins?The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.”
One day some followers of John the Baptist came and asked Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees often go without eating, while your disciples never do?” Jesus answered: The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating.
The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should.
Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.Love each other as brothers and sisters and honour others more than you do yourself.Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve the Lord.Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.Ask God to bless everyone who ill-treats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them.When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad.Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are cleverer than others. Make friends with ordinary people.Don't ill-treat someone who has ill-treated you. But try to earn the respect of others,and do your best to live at peace with everyone.Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says, “I am the one to take revenge and pay them back.”Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.
Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.
Stay awake and pray that you won't be tested. You want to do what is right, but you are weak.”
When they were sick, I wore sackcloth and went without food. I truly prayed for them, as I would for a friend or a relative. I was in sorrow and mourned, as I would for my mother.
Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.
or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God's power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy argumentsand every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people's thoughts and make them obey Christ.
As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God.Even my bones are in pain, while all day long my enemies sneer and ask, “Where is your God?”Why am I discouraged? Why am I restless? I trust you! And I will praise you again because you help me, and you are my God.In my heart, I am thirsty for you, the living God. When will I see your face?
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.
Daniel wrote: For three weeks I was in sorrow.Then the angel said: Now do you understand why I have come? Soon I must leave to fight against the guardian angel of Persia. Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me.I will tell you what is written in The Book of Truth. But first, you must realize that no one except Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, is on my side.I ate no fine food or meat, I drank no wine, and I put no olive oil on my face or hair.
I often warned you that many people are living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn you againthat they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and boast about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of this world.
Watch out and keep praying that you can escape all that is going to happen and that the Son of Man will be pleased with you.
But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.
Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful again.Don't chase me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me.Make me as happy as you did when you saved me; make me want to obey!
If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires.The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should.
Beside the River Ahava, I asked the people to go without eating and to pray. We humbled ourselves and asked God to bring us and our children safely to Jerusalem with all our possessions.
Instead, comb your hair and wash your face.Then others won't know that you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.
When you go without eating, don't try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward.
Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last for ever.I don't run without a goal. And I don't box by beating my fists in the air.I keep my body under control and make it my slave, so I won't lose out after telling the good news to others.
Then, to show my sorrow, I went without eating and dressed in sackcloth and sat in ashes. I confessed my sins and earnestly prayed to the LORD my God: Our Lord, you are a great and fearsome God, and you faithfully keep your agreement with those who love and obey you.