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 tyme wyl come, that the brydegrome shalbe taken from them, and then shal they fast.

Then saide he vnto me: feare not Daniel: for why, sence the first daye that thou set thine herte to vnderstonde, and didest chasten thy self before thy God: thy wordes haue bene herde. And I had come vnto the whe thou begannest to speake,

Proclame a fastynge, call the cogregacion, gather the elders & all the inhabiters of the londe together into the house of the LORDE yor God, & crie vnto the LORDE:

Cornelius sayde: It is now foure dayes agoo, then fasted I, and at the nyenth houre I prayed in my house, and beholde, there stode a ma before me in a bryghte clothinge,

And Iesus sayde vnto the: Can the weddynge chyldre mourne as loge as the bridegrome is with them? The tyme will come, when the bridegrome shalbe taken from them, and the shall they fast.

Then touched he their eyes, sayinge: acordinge to youre fayth, be it vnto you.

Thynke ye this fast pleaseth me, that a ma shulde chasten himself for a daye, and to wryth his heade aboute like an hoke in an hairy cloth, & to lye vpon the earth? Shulde that be called fastinge, or a daye yt pleaseth ye LORDE?

Wherfore fast we (saye they) and thou seist it not? we put oure liues to straitnesse, and thou regardest it not?

Now therfore saieth the LORDE: Turne you vnto me with all youre hertes, with fastinge, wepynge and mournynge:

Moreouer when ye fast, be not sad as ye ypocrytes are. For they disfigure their faces, that they myght be sene of men to fast. Verely I saye vnto you: they haue their rewarde.But thou, whe thou fastest, annoynte thyne heed, and wash thy face,that it appeare not vnto men, that thou fastest: but vnto thy father which is in secrete: and thy father which seyth in secrete, shal rewarde the openly.

But this fastinge pleaseth not me, till ye tyme be thou lowse him out of bondage, that is in thy daunger: that thou breake the ooth of wicked bargaynes, that thou let the oppressed go fre, and take from them all maner of burthens.It pleaseth not me, till thou deale thy bred to the hongrie, & brynge the poore fatherlesse home in to thy house, when thou seist the naked that thou couer him, and hyde not thy face fro thine owne flesh.

Now therfore saieth the LORDE: Turne you vnto me with all youre hertes, with fastinge, wepynge and mournynge:rente youre hertes, & not youre clothes. Turne you vnto the LORDE youre God, for he is gracious & mercifull, longe sufferynge & of greate compassion: & redy to pardone wickednes.

Blowe out with the tropet in Sion, proclame a fastynge, call the congregacion,

But this fastinge pleaseth not me, till ye tyme be thou lowse him out of bondage, that is in thy daunger: that thou breake the ooth of wicked bargaynes, that thou let the oppressed go fre, and take from them all maner of burthens.

And the people of Niniue beleued God, and proclamed fastinge, and arayed them selues in sack cloth, as well the greate as the small of them.

As they serued ye LORDE, and fasted, the holy goost sayde: Separate me out Barnabas and Saul for the worke, where vnto I haue called them.Then fasted they and prayed, and layed the handes on them, and let them go.

And he was there with the LORDE fourtye dayes and fourtye nightes, and ate no bred, and dranke no water. And he wrote in the tables the wordes of the couenaut, euen ten verses.

Neuertheles, when they were sick, I put on a sack cloth: I humbled my soule with fastinge, and my prayer turned in to myne owne bosome.

And wha they had ordeyned them Elders by eleccion thorow all the congregacions, they prayed and fasted, and comended them vnto the LORDE, on whom they beleued.

Then yf thou callest, the LORDE shal answere the: yf thou criest, he shal saye: here I am. Yee yf thou layest awaye thy burthens, and holdest thy fyngers, and ceasest from blasphemous talkinge,yf thou hast compassion vpon the hongrie, and refre?shest ye troubled soule: Then shal thy light springe out in the darknesse, and thy darknesse shalbe as the noone daye.The LORDE shal euer be thy gyde, and satisfie the desyre of thine hert, and fyl yi bones with marry. Thou shalt be like a freshwatred garden, and like the founteyne of water, that neuer leaueth runnynge.

And euen there at the water besyde Aheua, caused I a fastinge to be proclamed, yt we mighte humble oure selues before oure God, to seke of him a righte waye for us, & oure children and all oure substaunce.For I was ashamed to require of the kynge, soudyers & horsmen, to helpe us agaynst the enemye in the waye. For we had sayde vnto the kynge: The hande of oure God is for the best vpon all them that seke him, and his violence and wrath vpon all them that forsake him.So we fasted, and soughte this at oure God, and he herde us.

Iesus full of the holy goost, came agayne from Iordane, and was led of ye sprete into wyldernes,& fourty dayes loge was he tepted of ye deuell. And in those dayes ate he nothinge. And whan they were ended, he hongred afterwarde.

And Iosaphat was afrayed, & set his face to seke ye LORDE, & caused a fast to be proclamed in all Iuda.And Iuda came together to seke the LORDE. And out of all ye cities of Iuda came they to seke the LORDE.

I wepte and chastened my self wt fastinge, and that was turned to my reprofe.

Then wente all the children of Israel vp, and all the people, and came to the house of God, and wepte, and taried there before the LORDE, & fasted that daye vntyll the euen, and offred burntofferynges and deedofferinges before the LORDE.

Withdrawe not yor selues one fro another, excepte it be with the consent of both for a tyme, that ye maye geue youre selues vnto fastinge and prayer, and the come together agayne, lest Sathan tempte you for yor incontynecye.

And they came together vnto Mispa, and drue water, & poured it out before the LORDE, and fasted the same daye, and there they sayde: We haue synned vnto the LORDE. So Samuel iudged the children of Israel at Mispa.

And when he had fasted fourtye dayes and fourtye nightes, he was afterward an hungred.

But they sayde vnto him: Wherfore fast ye disciples of Iho so of, & praye so moch, & the disciples of the Pharises likewyse, but yi disciples eate and drynke?And he sayde vnto them: Can ye make the weddynge childre fast, so loge as the brydegrome is with the?But the tyme wil come that the brydegrome shalbe take fro the, then shal they fast.

Speake vnto all the people of the londe, and to the prestes, and saye: when ye fasted and mourned in the v & vij. moneth (now this lxx. yeares) dyd ye fast vnto me?

Wha I herde these wordes, I sat me downe & wepte, & mourned two dayes, & fasted & prayed before the God of heauen,

Then yf thou callest, the LORDE shal answere the: yf thou criest, he shal saye: here I am. Yee yf thou layest awaye thy burthens, and holdest thy fyngers, and ceasest from blasphemous talkinge,yf thou hast compassion vpon the hongrie, and refre?shest ye troubled soule: Then shal thy light springe out in the darknesse, and thy darknesse shalbe as the noone daye.

And Iosaphat was afrayed, & set his face to seke ye LORDE, & caused a fast to be proclamed in all Iuda.

Cast downe youre selues before the LORDE, and he shal lift you vp.

Speake vnto all the people of the londe, and to the prestes, and saye: when ye fasted and mourned in the v & vij. moneth (now this lxx. yeares) dyd ye fast vnto me?When ye ate also and dronke, dyd ye not eate and drinke for youre owne selues?

And the people of Niniue beleued God, and proclamed fastinge, and arayed them selues in sack cloth, as well the greate as the small of them.And the tydinges came vnto ye kinge of Niniue, which arose out off his seate, and dyd his apparell off, and put on sack cloth, and sate him downe in asshes.And it was cried and commaunded in Niniue, by the auctorite of the kige and his lordes, sayenge: se that nether man or beest, oxe or shepe taist ought at all: and that they nether fede ner drincke water:but put on sack cloth both man and beest, and crye mightely vnto God: yee se that euery man turne fro his euell waye, and from the wickednesse, yt he hath in honde.Who can tell? God maye turne, and repete, and cease from his fearce wrath, that we perish not.And when God sawe their workes, how they turned from their wicked wayes: he repented on the euell, which he sayde he wolde do vnto them, and dyd it not.

And it fortuned at the same tyme, that he wente out in to a mountayne to praye, and continued all night in prayer to God.

What acceptable thynge shal I offre vnto the LORDE? shall I bowe mykne to the hye God? Shal I come before him wt brentofferinges, and with calues of a yeare olde?Hath the LORDE a pleasure in many thousand rammes, or innumerable streames of oyle? Or shal I geue my firstborne for myne offences, and the frute of my body for the synne of my soule?I wil shewe the (O ma) what is good, and what the LORDE requyreth off the: Namely, to do right, to haue pleasure in louynge kyndnesse, to be lowly, and to walke with thy God:

Then came the disciples of Ihon to hym sayinge: why do we & ye Pharises fast so oft: and thy disciples fast not?And Iesus sayde vnto the: Can the weddynge chyldre mourne as loge as the bridegrome is with them? The tyme will come, when the bridegrome shalbe taken from them, and the shall they fast.

For the flesh lusteth agaynst the sprete, and the sprete agaynst the flesh. These are contrary one to the other, so that ye can not do that which ye wolde:

I beseke you brethre by the mercyfulnesse of God, that ye geue ouer youre bodies for a sacrifice, yt is quycke holy, and acceptable vnto God, which is yor reasonable seruynge off God.And fashion not youre selues like vnto this worlde, but be chaunged thorow the renewynge off yor mynde, yt ye maye proue, what thinge that good, yt acceptable, & perfecte wil of God is.

Be not carefull, but in all thinges let yor peticions in prayer and supplicacion, with geuynge of thankes be knowne before God.And ye peace of God, which passeth all vnderstodinge, kepe youre hertes and myndes in Christ Iesu.

But vnto them that haue the LORDE before their eyes, shal strength be encreased, Aegles wynges shal growe vpon them: When they runne, they shal not fall: and when they go, they shal not be weery.

Watch & praye, that ye fall not in to temptacion. The sprete is wyllinge, but the flesh is weake.

Neuertheles, when they were sick, I put on a sack cloth: I humbled my soule with fastinge, and my prayer turned in to myne owne bosome.I behaued myself as though it had bene my frende or my brother, I wete heuely, as one yt mourneth for his mother.

I beseke you brethre by the mercyfulnesse of God, that ye geue ouer youre bodies for a sacrifice, yt is quycke holy, and acceptable vnto God, which is yor reasonable seruynge off God.

I fast twyse in the weke, I geue the tithes of all that I haue.

For the wapens of oure warre are not fleshly, but mightie before God to cast downe stroge holdes,wherwith we ouerthrowe ymaginacions, & euery hye thinge yt exalteth it selfe agaynst the knowlege of God, and brynge in to captiuyte all vnderstondinge to the obedience of Christ,

Like as the hert desyreth the water brokes, so longeth my soule after the, o God. My soule is a thurste for God, yee eue for the lyuynge God: wha shal I come, & beholde the face of God?My teares are my meate daye and night, whyle it is daylie sayde vnto me: where is now thy God?

I am become a rebuke vnto them, they loke vpo me and shake their heades.

Wherfore seynge we haue so greate a multitude of witnesses aboute vs let vs also laye awaye all yt presseth downe, and the synne that hangeth on, and let vs runne with pacience vnto the batayl that is set before vs,

At the same tyme, I Daniel mourned for the space of thre wekes,so that I had no lust to eate bred: as for flesh and wyne, there came none within my mouth: No, I dyd not ones anoynte my self, till the whole thre wekes were out.

For many walke (off whom I haue tolde you often, but now I tell you wepynge) eue enemies of the crosse of Christ,whose ende is damnacion, whose God is the bely, & whose glory shalbe to their shame, which are earthly mynded.

Watch therfore cotynually, and praye, that ye maye be worthy to escape all this that shal come, & to stode before ye sonne of man.

Sela. Graunte the thy hertes desyre, & fulfill all thy mynde.

Seke ye fyrst the kyngdome of heauen and the righteousnes therof, so shal all these thynges be ministred vnto you.

Make me a clene hert (o God) and renue a right sprete within me.Cast me not awaie from thy presence, and take not thy holy sprete fro me.O geue me the comforte of thy helpe agayne, and stablish me with thy fre sprete.

I saye: Walke in the sprete, and so shal ye not fulfill the lustes off the flesshe.For the flesh lusteth agaynst the sprete, and the sprete agaynst the flesh. These are contrary one to the other, so that ye can not do that which ye wolde:

So we fasted, and soughte this at oure God, and he herde us.

And he sayde: This kynde ca go out by no meanes, but by prayer and fastynge.

And euen there at the water besyde Aheua, caused I a fastinge to be proclamed, yt we mighte humble oure selues before oure God, to seke of him a righte waye for us, & oure children and all oure substaunce.

But thou, whe thou fastest, annoynte thyne heed, and wash thy face,that it appeare not vnto men, that thou fastest: but vnto thy father which is in secrete: and thy father which seyth in secrete, shal rewarde the openly.

How beit this kinde goeth not out, but by prayer and fastynge.

Moreouer when ye fast, be not sad as ye ypocrytes are. For they disfigure their faces, that they myght be sene of men to fast. Verely I saye vnto you: they haue their rewarde.

Euery one that proueth mastrye, absteyneth from all thinges, and they do it, that they maye optayne a corruptible crowne, but we to optayne an vncorruptible crowne.I therfore so runne, not as at an vncertayne thinge: So fighte I, not as one yt beateth ye ayre:but I tame my body, and brynge it in to subieccion, lest whan I preach vnto other: I my selfe be a cast awaye.

ad I turned me vnto God the LORDE, for to praye and make myne intercessio, with fastinge, sackcloth ad ashes

Prayer