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 dayswill comewhenthe bridegroomis taken awayfrom them, and thenthey will fastin that day.

Then he saidto me, "Do not be afraid,Daniel,for from the firstdaythat you setyour hearton understanding[this] and on humblingyourself beforeyour God,your wordswere heard,and I have comein response to your words.

Consecratea fast,Proclaima solemnassembly;Gatherthe elders[And] allthe inhabitantsof the landTo the houseof the LORDyour God,And cryout to the LORD.

Corneliussaid,"Fourdaysagoto thishour,I was prayingin my houseduring the ninth hour;and behold,a manstoodbeforeme in shininggarments,

And Jesussaidto them, "The attendantsof the bridegroomcannotmournas longas the bridegroomis with them, can they? But the dayswill comewhenthe bridegroomis taken awayfrom them, and thenthey will fast.

ThenHe touchedtheir eyes,saying,"It shall be doneto you accordingto your faith."

"Is it a fastlike thiswhich I choose,a dayfor a manto humblehimself?Is it for bowingone's headlike a reedAnd for spreadingout sackclothand ashesas a bed? Will you callthisa fast,even an acceptabledayto the LORD?

Whyhave we fastedand You do not see?[Why] have we humbledourselvesand You do not notice?'Behold,on the dayof your fastyou find[your] desire,And drivehardallyour workers.

"Yet evennow,"declaresthe LORD,"Returnto Me with allyour heart,And with fasting,weepingand mourning;

"Wheneveryou fast,do not puton a gloomy faceas the hypocrites[do], for they neglecttheir appearancesothat they will be noticedby menwhen they are fasting.TrulyI sayto you, they havetheir rewardin full."But you, when you fast,anointyour headand washyour facesothat your fastingwill not be noticedby men,but by your Fatherwhois in secret;and your Fatherwhosees[what is done] in secretwill rewardyou.

"Is thisnot the fastwhich I choose,To loosenthe bondsof wickedness,To undothe bandsof the yoke,And to letthe oppressedgofreeAnd breakeveryyoke?"Is it not to divideyour breadwith the hungryAnd bringthe homelesspoorinto the house;Whenyou seethe naked,to coverhim; And not to hideyourself from your own flesh?

"Yet evennow,"declaresthe LORD,"Returnto Me with allyour heart,And with fasting,weepingand mourning;And rendyour heartand not your garments."Now returnto the LORDyour God,For He is graciousand compassionate,Slowto anger,aboundingin lovingkindnessAnd relentingof evil.

Blowa trumpetin Zion,Consecratea fast,proclaima solemnassembly,

"Is thisnot the fastwhich I choose,To loosenthe bondsof wickedness,To undothe bandsof the yoke,And to letthe oppressedgofreeAnd breakeveryyoke?

Then the peopleof Ninevehbelievedin God;and they calleda fastand puton sackclothfrom the greatestto the leastof them.

While they were ministeringto the Lordand fasting,the HolySpiritsaid,"Set apartfor Me Barnabasand Saulfor the workto whichI have calledthem."Then,when they had fastedand prayedand laidtheir handson them, they sent them away.

So he was therewith the LORDfortydaysand fortynights;he did not eatbreador drinkwater.And he wroteon the tabletsthe wordsof the covenant,the TenCommandments.

But as for me, when they were sick,my clothingwas sackcloth;I humbledmy soulwith fasting,And my prayerkept returningto my bosom.

When they had appointedeldersfor them in everychurch,having prayedwith fasting,they commendedthem to the Lordin whomthey had believed.

"Thenyou will call,and the LORDwill answer;You will cry,and He will say,'HereI am.' Ifyou removethe yokefrom your midst,The pointingof the fingerand speakingwickedness,And if you giveyourselfto the hungryAnd satisfythe desireof the afflicted,Then your lightwill risein darknessAnd your gloom[will become] like midday."And the LORDwill continuallyguideyou, And satisfyyour desirein scorchedplaces,And givestrengthto your bones;And you will be like a wateredgarden,And like a springof waterwhosewatersdo not fail.

Then I proclaimeda fastthereat the riverof Ahava,that we might humbleourselves beforeour Godto seekfrom Him a safejourneyfor us, our littleones,and allour possessions.For I was ashamedto requestfrom the kingtroopsand horsemento protectus from the enemyon the way,becausewe had saidto the king,"The handof our Godis favorablydisposedto allthose who seekHim, but His powerand His angerare againstallthose who forsakeHim."So we fastedand soughtour Godconcerningthis[matter], and He listenedto our entreaty.

Jesus,fullof the HolySpirit,returnedfrom the Jordanand was ledaround by the Spiritin the wildernessfor fortydays,being temptedby the devil.And He atenothingduringthosedays,and when they had ended,He became hungry.

Jehoshaphatwas afraidand turnedhis attentionto seekthe LORD,and proclaimeda fastthroughoutallJudah.So Judahgatheredtogether to seekhelp from the LORD;they evencamefrom allthe citiesof Judahto seekthe LORD.

When I weptin my soulwith fasting,It becamemy reproach.

Then allthe sonsof Israeland allthe peoplewentup and cameto Betheland wept;thus they remainedtherebeforethe LORDand fastedthat dayuntilevening.And they offeredburntofferingsand peaceofferingsbeforethe LORD.

Stopdeprivingone another,exceptby agreementfor a time,sothat you may devote yourselvesto prayer,and cometogetheragainsothat Satanwill not temptyou becauseof your lack of self-control.

They gatheredto Mizpah,and drewwaterand pouredit out beforethe LORD,and fastedon that dayand saidthere,"We have sinnedagainst the LORD."And Samueljudgedthe sonsof Israelat Mizpah.

And after He had fastedfortydaysand fortynights,He thenbecame hungry.

And they saidto Him, "The disciplesof Johnoftenfastand offerprayers,the [disciples] of the Phariseesalsodo the same,but Yourseatand drink."And Jesussaidto them, "You cannotmakethe attendantsof the bridegroomfastwhilethe bridegroomis with them, can you?"But [the] dayswill come;and whenthe bridegroomis taken awayfrom them, thenthey will fastin thosedays."

"Sayto allthe peopleof the landand to the priests,'Whenyou fastedand mournedin the fifthand seventhmonths theseseventyyears,was it actuallyfor Me that you fasted?

When I heardthesewords,I satdownand weptand mournedfor days;and I was fastingand prayingbeforethe Godof heaven.

"Thenyou will call,and the LORDwill answer;You will cry,and He will say,'HereI am.' Ifyou removethe yokefrom your midst,The pointingof the fingerand speakingwickedness,And if you giveyourselfto the hungryAnd satisfythe desireof the afflicted,Then your lightwill risein darknessAnd your gloom[will become] like midday.

Jehoshaphatwas afraidand turnedhis attentionto seekthe LORD,and proclaimeda fastthroughoutallJudah.

Humbleyourselves in the presenceof the Lord,and He will exaltyou.

"Sayto allthe peopleof the landand to the priests,'Whenyou fastedand mournedin the fifthand seventhmonths theseseventyyears,was it actuallyfor Me that you fasted?Whenyou eatand drink,do you not eatfor yourselves and do you not drinkfor yourselves?

Then the peopleof Ninevehbelievedin God;and they calleda fastand puton sackclothfrom the greatestto the leastof them.When the wordreachedthe kingof Nineveh,he arosefrom his throne,laidasidehis robefrom him, covered[himself] with sackclothand saton the ashes.He issueda proclamationand it said,"In Ninevehby the decreeof the kingand his nobles:Do not let man,beast,herd,or flocktastea thing.Do not let them eator drinkwater."But both manand beastmust be coveredwith sackcloth;and let men callon Godearnestlythat eachmay turnfrom his wickedwayand from the violencewhichis in his hands."Whoknows,Godmay turnand relentand withdrawHis burningangerso that we will not perish."When Godsawtheir deeds,that they turnedfrom their wickedway,then Godrelentedconcerningthe calamitywhichHe had declaredHe would bringupon them. And He did not do[it].

It was at thistimethat He went offto the mountainto pray,and He spent the whole nightin prayerto God.

With whatshall I cometo the LORD[And] bowmyself before the Godon high?Shall I cometo Him with burntofferings,With yearlingcalves?Does the LORDtakedelightin thousandsof rams,In tenthousandriversof oil?Shall I presentmy firstborn[for] my rebelliousacts,The fruitof my bodyfor the sinof my soul?He has toldyou, O man,whatis good;And whatdoes the LORDrequireof you But to dojustice,to lovekindness,And to walkhumblywith your God?

Thenthe disciplesof Johncameto Him, asking,"Whydo we and the Phariseesfast,but Your disciplesdo not fast?"And Jesussaidto them, "The attendantsof the bridegroomcannotmournas longas the bridegroomis with them, can they? But the dayswill comewhenthe bridegroomis taken awayfrom them, and thenthey will fast.

For the fleshsets its desireagainstthe Spirit,and the Spiritagainstthe flesh;for theseare in oppositionto one another,sothat you may not dothe things that you please.

ThereforeI urgeyou, brethren,by the merciesof God,to presentyour bodiesa livingand holysacrifice,acceptableto God,[which is] your spiritualservice of worship.And do not be conformedto thisworld,but be transformedby the renewingof your mind,sothat you may provewhatthe willof Godis, that which is goodand acceptableand perfect.

Be anxiousfor nothing,but in everythingby prayerand supplicationwith thanksgivinglet your requestsbe made knownto God.And the peaceof God,which surpassesallcomprehension,will guardyour heartsand your mindsin ChristJesus.

Yet those who waitfor the LORDWill gainnewstrength;They will mountup [with] wingslike eagles,They will runand not gettired,They will walkand not becomeweary.

"Keep watchingand prayingthat you may not enterinto temptation;the spiritis willing,but the fleshis weak."

But as for me, when they were sick,my clothingwas sackcloth;I humbledmy soulwith fasting,And my prayerkept returningto my bosom.I wentabout as though it were my friendor brother;I boweddownmourning,as onewhosorrowsfor a mother.

ThereforeI urgeyou, brethren,by the merciesof God,to presentyour bodiesa livingand holysacrifice,acceptableto God,[which is] your spiritualservice of worship.

I fasttwicea week;I pay tithesof allthat I get.'

for the weaponsof our warfareare not of the flesh,but divinelypowerfulfor the destructionof fortresses.[We are] destroyingspeculationsand everylofty thingraisedup againstthe knowledgeof God,and [we are] takingeverythoughtcaptiveto the obedienceof Christ,

As the deerpantsfor the waterbrooks,Somy soulpantsfor You, O God.My soulthirstsfor God,for the livingGod;Whenshall I comeand appearbeforeGod?

My kneesare weakfrom fasting,And my fleshhas grownlean,withoutfatness.

Therefore,since we haveso greata cloudof witnessessurroundingus, let us alsolay asideeveryencumbranceand the sinwhich so easily entanglesus, and let us runwith endurancethe racethat is set beforeus,

In thosedays,I, Daniel,had beenmourningfor threeentireweeks.I did not eatany tastyfood,nordid meator wineentermy mouth,nordid I useany ointmentat all untilthe entirethreeweekswere completed.

For manywalk,of whomI oftentoldyou, and nowtellyou evenweeping,[that they are] enemiesof the crossof Christ,whoseendis destruction,whosegodis [their] appetite,and [whose] gloryis in their shame,who set their mindson earthly things.

"But keep on the alertat alltimes,prayingthat you may have strengthto escapeallthese thingsthat are aboutto take place,and to standbeforethe Sonof Man."

May He grantyou your heart'sdesire And fulfillallyour counsel!

"But seekfirstHis kingdomand His righteousness,and allthese thingswill be addedto you.

Createin me a cleanheart,O God,And renewa steadfastspiritwithinme.Do not castme awayfrom Your presenceAnd do not takeYour HolySpiritfrom me.Restoreto me the joyof Your salvationAnd sustainme with a willingspirit.

But I say,walkby the Spirit,and you will not carryout the desireof the flesh.For the fleshsets its desireagainstthe Spirit,and the Spiritagainstthe flesh;for theseare in oppositionto one another,sothat you may not dothe things that you please.

So we fastedand soughtour Godconcerningthis[matter], and He listenedto our entreaty.

And He saidto them, "Thiskindcannotcomeout by anythingbut prayer."

Then I proclaimeda fastthereat the riverof Ahava,that we might humbleourselves beforeour Godto seekfrom Him a safejourneyfor us, our littleones,and allour possessions.

"But you, when you fast,anointyour headand washyour facesothat your fastingwill not be noticedby men,but by your Fatherwhois in secret;and your Fatherwhosees[what is done] in secretwill rewardyou.

["But thiskinddoes not goout exceptby prayerand fasting.]"

"Wheneveryou fast,do not puton a gloomy faceas the hypocrites[do], for they neglecttheir appearancesothat they will be noticedby menwhen they are fasting.TrulyI sayto you, they havetheir rewardin full.

Everyonewho competes in the gamesexercises self-controlin all things.They then[do it] to receivea perishablewreath,but we an imperishable.ThereforeI runin sucha way,as not without aim;I boxin such a way,as not beatingthe air;but I disciplinemy bodyand make it my slave,so that, after I have preachedto others,I myselfwill not be disqualified.

So I gavemy attentionto the LordGodto seek[Him by] prayerand supplications,with fasting,sackclothand ashes.

Prayer