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 come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.

Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.

Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly, assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour. At the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, let it be done for you.”

Is it such a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and an acceptable day to the Lord?

“Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You take no notice?” Behold, in the day of your fast you find your desire and are exacting on all your laborers.

Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the poor who are outcasts into your house? When you see the naked, to cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.Rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and He relents from punishing.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly.

Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke?

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast. And everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”“After about four hundred and fifty years, God gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they requested a king. And God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.When He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, of whom He testified, saying, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will fulfill My entire will.’“From this man’s descendants God has raised a Savior for Israel, Jesus, according to His promise.Before His coming John had preached a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there is coming One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those of you who fear God, the word of this salvation has been sent to us.Because those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, did not know Him, in condemning Him they have fulfilled the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath.Though they found in Him no cause worthy of death, yet they asked Pilate to have Him killed.When they had fulfilled all that was written of Him, they took Him down from the tree and placed Him in a tomb.Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He did not eat bread or drink water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.

When they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they believed.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask the king for an escort of foot and horse soldiers to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all who seek Him for good, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him.”So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.

Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you, to preserve you,’and ‘In their hands they shall hold you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”When the devil had ended all the temptations, he departed from Him until another time.Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And His fame went throughout the surrounding region.He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by everyone.He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And He stood up to read.The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. When He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”being tempted by the devil for forty days. During those days He ate nothing. And when they were ended, He was hungry.

Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. The name of his mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.He walked in the way of his father Asa, and he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.Only the high places were not taken down. The people had yet to set their hearts to the God of their fathers.And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the book of the kings of Israel.Also, Jehoshaphat king of Judah was united with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.Jehoshaphat joined with him to make ships to travel to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion Geber.And Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will tear down your works.” So the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to journey to Tarshish.And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.

Then all the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel where they wept and sat before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.

Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you for lack of self-control.

They gathered together to Mizpah. And they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted on that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” So Samuel judged the Israelites in Mizpah.

And He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, and then He was hungry.

They said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”He said to them, “Can you make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then in those days they will fast.”

Say to all the people in the land and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for Me?

When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days. Then I fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Say to all the people in the land and to the priests: When you fasted and lamented during the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for Me?And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?

In these days He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.

“With what should I come before the Lord, and bow down before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves one year old?Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”He has told you, O man, what is good— and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.Be devoted to one another with brotherly love; prefer one another in honor,do not be lazy in diligence, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord,rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer,contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Do not pretend to be wiser than you are.Repay no one evil for evil. Commend what is honest in the sight of all men.If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men.Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to God’s wrath, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay,” says the Lord.Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and complete will of God.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.

Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer would return to my own heart.I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down lamenting, as one who mourns for his mother.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.

I fast twice a week, and I tithe of all that I earn.’

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds,casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.As a shattering of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh has grown gaunt with no fatness.

Therefore, since we are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.Then he said, “Do you understand why I have come to you? But now I shall return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.But I will show you what is inscribed in the Scripture of Truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces, except Michael your prince.I ate no tasty food; no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

For many are walking in such a way that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. I have told you of them often and tell you again, even weeping.Their destination is destruction, their god is their appetite, their glory is in their shame, their minds are set on earthly things.

Therefore watch always and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

May He grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your plans.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your willing spirit.

I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

So we fasted and sought our God for this, and He was moved by our prayers.

He said to them, “This kind cannot come out except by prayer and fasting.”

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a good route for us, our little ones, and all our substance.

But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that you will not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.

Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.So, therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. So I fight, not as one who beats the air.But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

I set my face toward the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Prayer