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 days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast -- in those days.

And he saith unto me: Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst give thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words have been heard, and I have come because of thy words.

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders -- all the inhabitants of the land, `Into' the house of Jehovah your God,

And Cornelius said, `Four days ago till this hour, I was fasting, and `at' the ninth hour praying in my house, and, lo, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

And Jesus said to them, `Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast.

Then touched he their eyes, saying, `According to your faith let it be to you,'

Like this is the fast that I choose? The day of a man's afflicting his soul? To bow as a reed his head, And sackcloth and ashes spread out? This dost thou call a fast, And a desirable day -- to Jehovah?

`Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not seen? We have afflicted our soul, and Thou knowest not.' Lo, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, And all your labours ye exact.

And also now -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation.

`And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward. `But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who `is' in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

Is not this the fast that I chose -- To loose the bands of wickedness, To shake off the burdens of the yoke, And to send out the oppressed free, And every yoke ye draw off? Is it not to deal to the hungry thy bread, And the mourning poor bring home, That thou seest the naked and cover him, And from thine own flesh hide not thyself?

And also now -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation. And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful `is' He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil.

Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast -- proclaim a restraint.

Is not this the fast that I chose -- To loose the bands of wickedness, To shake off the burdens of the yoke, And to send out the oppressed free, And every yoke ye draw off?

And the men of Nineveh believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even unto their least,

and in their ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, `Separate ye to me both Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them,' then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent `them' away.

And he is there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; bread he hath not eaten, and water he hath not drunk; and he writeth on the tables the matters of the covenant -- the ten matters.

And I -- in their sickness my clothing `is' sackcloth, I have humbled with fastings my soul, And my prayer unto my bosom returneth.

and having appointed to them by vote elders in every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Then thou callest, and Jehovah answereth, Thou criest, and He saith, `Behold Me.' If thou turn aside from thy midst the yoke, The sending forth of the finger, And the speaking of vanity, And dost bring out to the hungry thy soul, And the afflicted soul dost satisfy, Then risen in the darkness hath thy light, And thy thick darkness `is' as noon.And Jehovah doth lead thee continually, And hath satisfied in drought thy soul, And thy bones He armeth, And thou hast been as a watered garden, And as an outlet of waters, whose waters lie not.

And I proclaim there a fast, by the river Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our infants, and for all our substance, for I was ashamed to ask from the king a force and horsemen to help us because of the enemy in the way, for we spake to the king, saying, `The hand of our God `is' upon all seeking Him for good, and His strength and His wrath `is' upon all forsaking Him.'And we fast, and seek from our God for this, and He is entreated of us.

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, turned back from the Jordan, and was brought in the Spirit to the wilderness, forty days being tempted by the Devil, and he did not eat anything in those days, and they having been ended, he afterward hungered,

And Jehoshaphat feareth, and setteth his face to seek to Jehovah, and proclaimeth a fast over all Judah; and Judah is gathered to inquire of Jehovah; also, from all the cities of Judah they have come in to seek Jehovah.

And I weep in the fasting of my soul, And it is for a reproach to me.

And all the sons of Israel go up, even all the people, and come in to Beth-El, and weep, and sit there before Jehovah, and fast on that day till the evening, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.

Defraud not one another, except by consent for a time, that ye may be free for fasting and prayer, and again may come together, that the Adversary may not tempt you because of your incontinence;

And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, `We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he did hunger.

And they said unto him, `Wherefore do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications -- in like manner also those of the Pharisees -- but thine do eat and drink?' And he said unto them, `Are ye able to make the sons of the bride-chamber -- in the bridegroom being with them -- to fast? but days will come, and, when the bridegroom may be taken away from them, then they shall fast in those days.'

`Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying:

And it cometh to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn `for' days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

Then thou callest, and Jehovah answereth, Thou criest, and He saith, `Behold Me.' If thou turn aside from thy midst the yoke, The sending forth of the finger, And the speaking of vanity, And dost bring out to the hungry thy soul, And the afflicted soul dost satisfy, Then risen in the darkness hath thy light, And thy thick darkness `is' as noon.

And Jehoshaphat feareth, and setteth his face to seek to Jehovah, and proclaimeth a fast over all Judah;

be made low before the Lord, and He shall exalt you.

`Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying: When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh `months' -- even these seventy years -- did ye keep the fast `to' Me -- Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?

And the men of Nineveh believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even unto their least, seeing the word doth come unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the ashes, and he crieth and saith in Nineveh by a decree of the king and his great ones, saying, `Man and beast, herd and flock -- let them not taste anything, let them not feed, even water let them not drink; and cover themselves `with' sackcloth let man and beast, and let them call unto God mightily, and let them turn back each from his evil way, and from the violence that `is' in their hands.Who knoweth? He doth turn back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger, and we do not perish.' And God seeth their works, that they have turned back from their evil way, and God repenteth of the evil that He spake of doing to them, and he hath not done `it'.

And it came to pass in those days, he went forth to the mountain to pray, and was passing the night in the prayer of God,

With what do I come before Jehovah? Do I bow to God Most High? Do I come before Him with burnt-offerings? With calves -- sons of a year? Is Jehovah pleased with thousands of rams? With myriads of streams of oil? Do I give my first-born `for' my transgression? The fruit of my body `for' the sin of my soul?He hath declared to thee, O man, what `is' good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except -- to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?

Then come to him do the disciples of John, saying, `Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?' And Jesus said to them, `Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast.

for the flesh doth desire contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, and these are opposed one to another, that the things that ye may will -- these ye may not do;

I call upon you, therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a sacrifice -- living, sanctified, acceptable to God -- your intelligent service; and be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for your proving what `is' the will of God -- the good, and acceptable, and perfect.

for nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, that is surpassing all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

But those expecting Jehovah pass `to' power, They raise up the pinion as eagles, They run and are not fatigued, They go on and do not faint!

watch, and pray, that ye may not enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is forward, but the flesh weak.'

And I -- in their sickness my clothing `is' sackcloth, I have humbled with fastings my soul, And my prayer unto my bosom returneth.As `if' a friend, as `if' my brother, I walked habitually, As a mourner for a mother, Mourning I have bowed down.

I call upon you, therefore, brethren, through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a sacrifice -- living, sanctified, acceptable to God -- your intelligent service;

I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all things -- as many as I possess.

for the weapons of our warfare `are' not fleshly, but powerful to God for bringing down of strongholds,reasonings bringing down, and every high thing lifted up against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of the Christ,

To the Overseer. -- An Instruction. By sons of Korah. As a hart doth pant for streams of water, So my soul panteth toward Thee, O God. My soul thirsted for God, for the living God, When do I enter and see the face of God?

My knees have been feeble from fasting, And my flesh hath failed of fatness.

Therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses set around us, every weight having put off, and the closely besetting sin, through endurance may we run the contest that is set before us,

`In those days, I, Daniel, have been mourning three weeks of days; desirable bread I have not eaten, and flesh and wine hath not come in unto my mouth, and I have not anointed myself at all, till the completion of three weeks of days.

for many walk of whom many times I told you -- and now also weeping tell -- the enemies of the cross of the Christ! whose end `is' destruction, whose god `is' the belly, and whose glory `is' in their shame, who the things on earth are minding.

watch ye, then, in every season, praying that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are about to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.'

He doth give to thee according to thy heart, And all thy counsel doth fulfil.

but seek ye first the reign of God and His righteousness, and all these shall be added to you.

A clean heart prepare for me, O God, And a right spirit renew within me. Cast me not forth from Thy presence, And Thy Holy Spirit take not from me. Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And a willing spirit doth sustain me.

And I say: In the Spirit walk ye, and the desire of the flesh ye may not complete; for the flesh doth desire contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit contrary to the flesh, and these are opposed one to another, that the things that ye may will -- these ye may not do;

And we fast, and seek from our God for this, and He is entreated of us.

And he said to them, `This kind is able to come forth with nothing except with prayer and fasting.'

And I proclaim there a fast, by the river Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our infants, and for all our substance,

`But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who `is' in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

and this kind doth not go forth except in prayer and fasting.'

`And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.

and every one who is striving, is in all things temperate; these, indeed, then, that a corruptible crown they may receive, but we an incorruptible; I, therefore, thus run, not as uncertainly, thus I fight, as not beating air; but I chastise my body, and bring `it' into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others -- I myself may become disapproved.

and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek `by' prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.

Prayer