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VERSES ABOUT FASTING
Fasting helps me grow closer to God and strengthens my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I try not to see it as something I do for my own benefit, but as a way to improve my walk with God. It's a voluntary choice, a time when I set aside the physical need for food to nourish my spirit. It's a special time to seek God's presence, which is why I find it helpful to fast in a quiet place where I can talk with Him alone.
The Bible talks about this too. Daniel 9:31 says, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." It's really inspiring to see how people in the Bible sought God through fasting.
“Now whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.But as for you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
“Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?“Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.
So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.”After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, One is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.When they had carried out everything that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon Him.”So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our pleading.
Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord.The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first to last, behold, they are written in the annals of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel. After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.So he allied 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 you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.
Now when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wildernessfor it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You, to protect You,’and, ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ”And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been stated, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding region.And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
So he was there with the Lord for 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.
When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, But my prayer kept returning to me. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house in his son’s days.”
Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am leaving, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.However, I will tell you what is recorded in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.“Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!“Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.“Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them, And You made a name for Yourself as it is this day.“You divided the sea before them, So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground; And You hurled their pursuers into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters. “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.“Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.“So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And gave them commandments, statutes, and law, Through Your servant Moses.“You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, You brought out water from a rock for them for their thirst, And You told them to enter in order to take possession of The land which You swore to give them. ¶“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments. “They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in mercy; And You did not abandon them.“Even when they made for themselves A calf of cast metal And said, ‘This is your god Who brought you up from Egypt,’ And committed great blasphemies,You, in Your great compassion, Did not abandon them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers.
“Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it actually for Me that you fasted?
So they gathered 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 sons of Israel at Mizpah.
Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
“Go, gather all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants also will fast in the same way. And then I will go in to the king, which is not in accordance with the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord.
Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God.
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.
so that your fasting will not be noticed by people but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to put an end to them by the sword, famine, and plague.”
“The Lord of armies says this: ‘The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, jubilation, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.’
But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, But my prayer kept returning to me.
Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Have the groom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Now when I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.I said, “Please, Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments:let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have committed against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.
And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat.Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.”
and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.
Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;
While I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with understanding.At the beginning of your pleas the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are highly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord.Woe for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their descendants, with instructions for their times of fasting and their mourning.
“Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their wrongdoing, And to the house of Jacob their sins.And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.“And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell. ¶“If, because of the Sabbath, you restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And oppress all your workers.“Behold, you fast for contention and strife, and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you have done today to make your voice heard on high!“Is it a fast like this that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?“Is this not the fast that I choose: To release the bonds of wickedness, To undo the ropes of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free, And break every yoke?“Is it not to break your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?“Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will spring up quickly; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.And He *said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.”And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them.Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them.Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Until the day was about to dawn, Paul kept encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken in nothing.Therefore, I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your survival, for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.”
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.Then the king got up at dawn, at the break of day, and went in a hurry to the lions’ den.and over them, three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), so that these satraps would be accountable to them, and that the king would not suffer loss.And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.
When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, removed his robe from himself, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the dust.And he issued a proclamation, and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: No person, animal, herd, or flock is to taste anything. They are not to eat, or drink water.But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to call on God vehemently, and they are to turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands.Who knows, God may turn and relent, and turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish.”
Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.“Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them, And You made a name for Yourself as it is this day.“You divided the sea before them, So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground; And You hurled their pursuers into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters. “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.“Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments.“So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And gave them commandments, statutes, and law, Through Your servant Moses.“You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, You brought out water from a rock for them for their thirst, And You told them to enter in order to take possession of The land which You swore to give them. ¶“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments. “They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in mercy; And You did not abandon them.“Even when they made for themselves A calf of cast metal And said, ‘This is your god Who brought you up from Egypt,’ And committed great blasphemies,You, in Your great compassion, Did not abandon them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go.The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers.“Instead, You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, You did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst.“Indeed, for forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not lacking; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell up.“You also gave them kingdoms and peoples, And allotted them to them as a boundary. They took possession of the land of Sihon the king of Heshbon And the land of Og the king of Bashan.“You made their sons as numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers to enter and possess.“So their sons entered and took possession of the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You handed them over to them, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they desired. “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Carved out cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled and put on fat, And lived luxuriously in Your great goodness.¶“But they became rebellious and revolted against You, And threw Your Law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them In order to bring them back to You, And they committed great blasphemies.“Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them, But when they cried out to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them people who saved them from the hand of their enemies. “But as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You; Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. When they cried out again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion,And admonished them in order to turn them back to Your Law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances, Which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them. And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen. While they stood in their place, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.
I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I remained on the mountain for forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water.
Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.
“Now whenever you fast, do not make a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they distort their faces so that they will be noticed by people when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
¶But You, God, the Lord, deal kindly with me for the sake of Your name; Because Your mercy is good, rescue me;For I am afflicted and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. I am passing like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like the locust.My knees are weak from fasting, And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.
But every person and animal must be covered with sackcloth; and people are to call on God vehemently, and they are to turn, each one from his evil way, and from the violence which is in their hands.
Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Then the disciples of John *came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the groom cannot mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results.Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
In each and every province where the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and mourning rites; and many had sackcloth and ashes spread out as a bed.
Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah.
“Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.
So they gathered 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 sons of Israel at Mizpah.Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the governors of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard about it, they were afraid of the Philistines.So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that He will save us from the hand of the Philistines!”
But at the evening offering I stood up from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I bowed down on my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God;
Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining clothing,
But the man of God said to the king, “If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place.For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘You shall not eat bread nor drink water, nor return by the way that you came.’ ”
Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, God. As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”Why are you in despair, my soul? And why are you restless within me? Wait for God, for I will again praise Him For the help of His presence, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
Now I assembled them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there.So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, leading men, and for Joiarib and Elnathan, teachers.And I sent them to Iddo the leading man at the place called Casiphia; and I told them what to say to Iddo and his brothers, the temple servants at the place Casiphia, that is, to bring ministers to us for the house of our God.And as the good hand of our God was upon us, they brought us a man of insight from the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, and his sons and brothers, eighteen men;and Hashabiah and Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, twenty men;of the sons of Phinehas, Gershom; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush;and 220 of the temple servants, whom David and the officials had provided for the service of the Levites, all of them designated by name.Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, to humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “The hand of our God is favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon Him.”So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He listened to our pleading.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.Then Jesus *said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”Then the devil *left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.
And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you?But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”
And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron’s son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I stop?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.Indeed, all Israel has violated Your Law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has gushed forth on us, along with the oath which is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.So He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great disaster; for under the entire heaven there has not been done anything like what was done in Jerusalem.Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our wrongdoing and giving attention to Your truth.So the Lord has kept the disaster in store and brought it on us; for the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice. “And now, Lord, our God, You who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked.Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the wrongdoings of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of taunting to all those around us.So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas, and for Your sake, Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.My God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our pleas before You based on any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion.Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.While I was still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with understanding.At the beginning of your pleas the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, because you are highly esteemed; so pay attention to the message and gain understanding of the vision. “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress.Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
Then Nathan went to his house. Later the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?”But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.”“The wealthy man had a great many flocks and herds.So David got up from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.”And he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not return to me.”
¶Put on sackcloth And mourn, you priests; Wail, you ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, You ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Have been withheld from the house of your God.Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord.
When I wept in my soul with fasting, It became my disgrace.When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a proverb to them.
And if you offer yourself to the hungry And satisfy the need of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness, And your gloom will become like midday.“And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
But as for you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Now I assembled them at the river that runs to Ahava, where we camped for three days; and when I paid close attention to the people and the priests, I did not find any Levites there.
Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.And David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, and you will certainly rescue everyone.”
God, You are my God; I shall be watching for You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and exhausted land where there is no water.They will be turned over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes. But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will boast, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.So have I seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and glory.Because Your favor is better than life, My lips will praise You.So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.My soul is satisfied as with fat and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.
Then he prayed to the Lord and said, “Please Lord, was this not what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore in anticipation of this I fled to Tarshish, since I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and One who relents of disaster.
My soul longed and even yearned for the courtyards of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
They shall give thanks to the Lord for His mercy, And for His wonders to the sons of mankind! For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And He has filled the hungry soul with what is good.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.
Then he said to them, “Go, eat the festival foods, drink the sweet drinks, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your refuge.”
¶Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And will have compassion for His people. The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a disgrace among the nations.
Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually,because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from grief into joy, and from mourning into a holiday; that they were to make them days of feasting and rejoicing, and sending portions of food to one another, and gifts to the poor.
Now there were prophets and teachers at Antioch, in the church that was there: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord?Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it.”Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance—all of which took about 450 years.While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for Me for the work to which I have called them.”After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,after John had proclaimed, before His coming, a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, One is coming after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’“Brothers, sons of Abraham’s family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.And though they found no grounds for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.When they had carried out everything that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.Then, when they had fasted, prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
¶“If, because of the Sabbath, you restrain your foot From doing as you wish on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a pleasure, and the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.Now behold, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children.Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.You need not fight in this battle; take your position, stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Aram; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).”They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.”When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.”When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down.For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor.When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much. Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of Beracah” until today.Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies.They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord.And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah.So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God gave him rest on all sides.
But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,“Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.
Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”So the sons of Israel got up in the morning and camped against Gibeah.And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword.The men of Israel went to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel lined up for battle against them at Gibeah.Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and struck to the ground on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israel.But the people, the men of Israel, showed themselves courageous and lined up for battle again in the place where they had lined themselves up on the first day.And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall we again advance for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”So the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin on the second day.And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and struck to the ground again eighteen thousand men of the sons of Israel; all of these drew the sword.Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel, and they wept and remained there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them.Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them.Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’ ”
Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And cry out to the Lord.Woe for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty. Has food not been cut off before our eyes, and Joy and rejoicing from the house of our God?
While they stood in their place, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.
Then Nathan went to his house. Later the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground.
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.Then the king got up at dawn, at the break of day, and went in a hurry to the lions’ den.and over them, three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), so that these satraps would be accountable to them, and that the king would not suffer loss.And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king began speaking and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?”Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, since I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”Then the king was very glad and gave orders for Daniel to be lifted up out of the den. So Daniel was lifted up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they threw them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry.
And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were in Damascus,
Then Ezra rose from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib. Although he went there, he did not eat bread nor drink water, because he was mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.So they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the exiles, that they were to assemble at Jerusalem,and that whoever did not come within three days, in accordance with the counsel of the leaders and the elders, all his property would be forfeited, and he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and it concerned great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. Then behold, a hand touched me and shook me on my hands and knees.And he said to me, “Daniel, you who are treasured, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand at your place, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision pertains to the days still future.” When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless.And behold, one who resembled a human was touching my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “My lord, due to the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.And he said, “You who are treasured, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I felt strengthened and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am leaving, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.However, I will tell you what is recorded in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air;but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
God, You are my God; I shall be watching for You; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and exhausted land where there is no water.
I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, and said, “Oh, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and faithfulness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,we have sinned, we have done wrong, and acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our leaders, our fathers, and all the people of the land.
And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.”