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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 come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day.
Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and, to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard: and I am come for thy words' sake.
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.
And Cornelius said, Four days ago, until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood before me in bright apparel,
And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Yet even now, saith the LORD, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God, for he is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth him of the evil.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.and after these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.And afterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years.And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king; to whom also he bare witness, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my will.Of this man's seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus;when John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And as John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye that I am? I am not he. But behold, there cometh one after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not worthy to unloose.Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth.For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.And though they found no cause of death in him, yet asked they of Pilate that he should be slain.And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom.
And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way, for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated of us.
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wildernessfor it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, to guard thee:and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him for a season.And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about.And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read.And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written,The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised,To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.during forty days, being tempted of the devil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they were completed, he hungered.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of their fathers.Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; the same did very wickedly:and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency.
And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
And they said unto him, The disciples of John fast often, and make supplications; likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink.And Jesus said unto them, Can ye make the sons of the bride-chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come; and when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then will they fast in those days.
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month, even these seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
And it came to pass in these days, that he went out into the mountain to pray; and he continued all night in prayer to God.
Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Then come to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?And Jesus said unto them, Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honour preferring one another;in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing stedfastly in prayer;communicating to the necessities of the saints; given to hospitality.Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not.Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits.Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honourable in the sight of all men.If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord.And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
Watch and pray, that ye 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 afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom.I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
(for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strong holds);casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God.As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me; While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?
Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
In those days I Daniel was mourning three whole weeks.Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me against these, but Michael your prince.I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me.Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: And uphold me with a free spirit.
But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would.
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way, for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall recompense thee.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
And every man that striveth in the games is temperate in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air:but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.