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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 days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they shall fast, in those days.
And he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day that you set your heart to understand, by afflicting yourself in the sight of your God, your words have been heeded, and I have arrived because of your words.
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:
And Cornelius said: "It is now the fourth day, to this very hour, since I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in a white vestment, and he said:
And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith, so let it be done for you."
Is this a fast such as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day, to contort his head in a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? Should you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord?
"Why have we fasted, and you have not taken notice? Why have we humbled our souls, and you have not acknowledged it?" Behold, in the day of your fasting, your own will is found, and you petition for payment from all your debtors.
Now, therefore, the Lord says: "Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning."
And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
Is not this, instead, the kind of fast that I have chosen? Release the constraints of impiety; relieve the burdens that oppress; freely forgive those who are broken; and break apart every burden.Break your bread with the hungry, and lead the destitute and the homeless into your house. When you see someone naked, cover him, and do not despise your own flesh.
Now, therefore, the Lord says: "Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning."And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and convert to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful, patient and full of compassion, and steadfast despite ill will.
Is not this, instead, the kind of fast that I have chosen? Release the constraints of impiety; relieve the burdens that oppress; freely forgive those who are broken; and break apart every burden.
And the men of Nineveh believed in God. And they proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest all the way to the least.
Now as they were ministering for the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: "Separate Saul and Barnabas for me, for the work for which I have selected them."after about four hundred and fifty years. And after these things, he gave them judges, even until the prophet Samuel.And later on, they petitioned for a king. And God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.And having removed him, he raised up for them king David. And offering testimony about him, he said, 'I have found David, the son of Jesse, to be a man according to my own heart, who will accomplish all that I will.'From his offspring, according to the Promise, God has brought Jesus the Savior to Israel.John was preaching, before the face of his advent, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.Then, when John completed his course, he was saying: 'I am not the one you consider me to be. For behold, one arrives after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to loosen.'Noble brothers, sons of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, it is to you the Word of this salvation has been sent.For those who were living in Jerusalem, and its rulers, heeding neither him, nor the voices of the Prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled these by judging him.And although they found no case for death against him, they petitioned Pilate, so that they might put him to death.And when they had fulfilled everything that had been written about him, taking him down from the tree, they placed him in a tomb.Then, fasting and praying and imposing their hands upon them, they sent them away.
Therefore, he was in that place with the Lord for forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread and he did not drink water, and he wrote on the tablets the ten words of the covenant.
In that place, those who work iniquity have fallen. They have been expelled; they were not able to stand.
And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to petition the king for assistance and for horsemen, who would defend us from the enemy along the way. For we had said to the king: "The hand of our God is over all those who seek him in goodness. And his authority, and his strength and fury, is over all those who forsake him."And so we fasted and begged our God for this; and as a result, we prospered.
And Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. And he was urged by the Spirit into the wildernessFor it is written that he has given his Angels charge over you, so that they may guard you,and so that they may take you into their hands, lest perhaps you may hurt your foot against a stone."And in response, Jesus said to him, "It is said: 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "And when all the temptation was completed, the devil withdrew from him, until a time.And Jesus returned, in the power of the Spirit, into Galilee. And his fame spread throughout the entire region.And he taught in their synagogues, and he was magnified by everyone.And he went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. And he entered into the synagogue, according to his custom, on the Sabbath day. And he rose up to read.And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. And as he unrolled the book, he found the place where it was written:"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because of this, he has anointed me. He has sent me to evangelize the poor, to heal the contrite of heart,to preach forgiveness to captives and sight to the blind, to release the broken into forgiveness, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of retribution."for forty days, and he was tested by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days. And when they were completed, he was hungry.
Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.And so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. And he was thirty-five years old when he had begun to reign. Then he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.And he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and he did not decline from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.Yet truly, he did not take away the high places, and the people still had not directed their heart to the Lord, the God of their fathers.But the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious.And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber.Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu, from Mareshah, prophesied to Jehoshaphat, saying: "Because you have made a pact with Ahaziah, the Lord has struck your works, and the ships have been broken, and they have not been able to go to Tarshish."And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him.
As a result, all the sons of Israel went to the house of God, and sitting down, they wept before the Lord. And they fasted that day until evening, and they offered to him holocausts and victims of peace offerings.
So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
And they convened at Mizpah. And they drew water, and they poured it out in the sight of the Lord. And on that day they fasted, and in that place they said, "We have sinned against the Lord." And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
But they said to him, "Why do the disciples of John fast frequently, and make supplications, and those of the Pharisees act similarly, while yours eat and drink?"And he said to them: "How can you cause the sons of the groom to fast, while the groom is still with them?But the days will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast, in those days."
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?
And when I had heard this manner of words, I sat down, and I wept and mourned for many days. I fasted and prayed before the face of the God of heaven.
Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying: Although you may have fasted and mourned in the fifth and the seventh month for these seventy years, did you indeed keep a fast unto me?And when you did eat and drink, did you not eat for yourselves, and drink only for yourselves?
And it happened that, in those days, he went out to a mountain to pray. And he was in the prayer of God throughout the night.
What worthy thing might I offer to the Lord, as I bend the knee before God on high? How could I offer holocausts to him, and one year-old calves?Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with many thousands of fat he-goats? How could I give up my firstborn because of my evil deed, the fruit of my womb because of the sin of my soul?I will reveal to you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires from you, and how to act with judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk carefully with your God.
Then the disciples of John drew near to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples do not fast?"And Jesus said to them: "How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.
And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.loving one another with fraternal charity, surpassing one another in honor:in solicitude, not lazy; in spirit, fervent; serving the Lord;in hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, ever-willing;in the difficulties of the saints, sharing; in hospitality, attentive.Bless those who are persecuting you: bless, and do not curse.Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Weep with those who are weeping.Be of the same mind toward one another: not savoring what is exalted, but consenting in humility. Do not choose to seem wise to yourself.Render to no one harm for harm. Provide good things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men.If it is possible, in so far as you are able, be at peace with all men.Do not defend yourselves, dearest ones. Instead, step aside from wrath. For it is written: "Vengeance is mine. I shall give retribution, says the Lord."And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.
Be anxious about nothing. But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.And so shall the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will take up wings like eagles. They will run and not struggle. They will walk and not tire.
Be vigilant and pray, so that you may not enter into temptation. Indeed, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
In that place, those who work iniquity have fallen. They have been expelled; they were not able to stand.
And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.
For the weapons of our battles are not carnal, yet still they are powerful with God, unto the destruction of fortifications: tearing down every counseland height that extols itself contrary to the wisdom of God, and leading every intellect into the captivity of obedience to Christ,
A Psalm of David. Judge me, O God, and discern my cause from that of a nation not holy; rescue me from a man unjust and deceitful.For you are God, my strength. Why have you rejected me? And why do I walk in sadness, while the adversary afflicts me?
Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us.
In those days, I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks of days.And he said, "Do you not know why I have come to you? And next I will return, to fight against the leader of the Persians. When I was leaving, there appeared the leader of the Greeks arriving.But, in truth, I announce to you what is expressed in the scripture of truth. And no one is my helper in all these things, except Michael your leader."I ate no desirable bread, and neither meat, nor wine, entered my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment, until the three weeks of days were completed.
For many persons, about whom I have often told you (and now tell you, weeping,) are walking as enemies of the cross of Christ.Their end is destruction; their god is their belly; and their glory is in their shame: for they are immersed in earthly things.
And so, be vigilant, praying at all times, so that you may be held worthy to escape from all these things, which are in the future, and to stand before the Son of man."
For you have gone ahead of him with blessings of sweetness. You have placed a crown of precious stones on his head.
Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.
But I, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, have hoped in the mercy of God unto eternity, and forever and ever.I will confess to you forever, because you have accomplished it. And I will wait on your name, for it is good in the sight of your saints.
So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.
And setting out from there, they passed through Galilee. And he intended that no one know about it.
And I proclaimed a fast in that place, beside the river Ahava, so that we might afflict ourselves in the sight of the Lord our God, and so that we might request of him the right way for us, and for our sons, and for all our substance.
But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
And when they were conversing together in Galilee, Jesus said to them: "The Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.
And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible.And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air.Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.
And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.