42 Helpful Bible Verses for Fasting (With Commentary)
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that offers profound benefits in our relationship with God. It is a time dedicated to humility, repentance, and a deeper communion with the Lord.
These 42 Bible verses, organized into categories, will provide you with a scriptural foundation for engaging in fasting, as well as insights into the purposes and blessings associated with this practice.
Fasting for Spiritual Focus
- Matthew 6:6 – “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Reflection: Fasting is not a display for others but an intimate act of devotion to God, who sees and rewards in secret.
- Acts 13:2 – “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'”
Reflection: Fasting can be a special time of worship where we become more attuned to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
- Luke 2:37 – “And then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
Reflection: Fasting, combined with persistent prayer, can be a powerful means of worship and seeking God’s presence.
- Psalm 35:13 – “Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting.”
Reflection: Fasting is a means of humbling ourselves before God, often in intercession for others.
- Daniel 9:3 – “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
Reflection: Fasting is an earnest expression of seeking God, accompanying fervent prayers and petitions.
Fasting and Repentance
- Joel 2:12 – “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'”
Reflection: God invites His people to return to Him with sincerity, marked by fasting as a sign of deep repentance and humility.
- Jonah 3:5 – “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.”
Reflection: A corporate expression of belief in God’s message can lead to communal fasting as an outward indication of inner change.
- Nehemiah 1:4 – “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
Reflection: Learning of distressing situations can move us to fast and pray as a response of solidarity and repentance.
- Daniel 10:12 – “Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.'”
Reflection: In seeking understanding and practicing humility through fasting, we open the door for a responsive encounter with the divine.
- Ezra 8:21 – “There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.”
Reflection: Fasting can be a collective act of humility and dependence on God for protection and provision during significant transitions.
Fasting for Deliverance and Protection
- Esther 4:16 – “‘Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.'”
Reflection: In times of imminent danger, fasting can be a communal petition for divine intervention and deliverance.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3 – “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”
Reflection: Facing an overwhelming threat, the decision to fast is a powerful way to seek God’s help and demonstrate reliance on Him.
- Psalm 69:10 – “When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;”
Reflection: Fasting may sometimes be met with misunderstanding or ridicule, yet it is a sincere expression of our longing for God’s intervention.
- Ezra 8:23 – “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
Reflection: Fasting as part of our petitions can lead to clear answers from God, assuring us of His care and involvement in our lives.
- Psalm 109:24 – “My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.”
Reflection: Physical weakness induced by fasting can reflect the depth of our pleas for God’s deliverance and mercy.
Fasting and Physical Healing
- Isaiah 58:8 – “‘Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.'”
Reflection: Fasting, done in a manner pleasing to God, brings the promise of healing and divine protection.
- James 5:16 – “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Reflection: Confession and prayer, often associated with fasting, have great power to bring about healing.
- Matthew 17:21 – “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” [Note: This verse is omitted in some Bible translations due to textual variant considerations.]
Reflection: Certain spiritual breakthroughs, including those related to healing, may require the combined practices of prayer and fasting.
- Isaiah 58:6 – “‘Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?'”
Reflection: The fast God chooses involves seeking justice and liberation, which can also pertain to freedom from physical ailments.
- 1 Corinthians 7:5 – “Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer; then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Reflection: Fasting, even from marital relations, is meant to be a special time of focused prayer which can include petitions for healing.
Fasting for Inner Strength and Clarity
- Acts 14:23 – “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”
Reflection: Fasting can accompany critical moments of decision-making and committing our works to the Lord.
- Daniel 9:9 – “‘The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;'”
Reflection: In fasting and confession, we draw near to God’s mercy and forgiveness, gaining strength to resist future rebellion.
- Psalm 51:17 – “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
Reflection: The posture of fasting is one of a broken spirit and contriteness, which God honors and responds to with strength and clarity.
- Matthew 9:14-15 – “Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.'”
Reflection: Fasting brings clarity and strength, particularly in times when we are not in the physical presence of Christ, as His early disciples experienced.
- Luke 5:35 – “But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
Reflection: Anticipating difficult times, Jesus indicates that His followers will employ fasting to find strength and direction.
Encouragements and Warnings about Fasting
- Isaiah 58:5 – “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?”
Reflection: God challenges us to understand that a true fast goes beyond external expressions to include acts of kindness, justice, and genuine humility.
- Matthew 6:16-18 – “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
Reflection: Jesus cautions about fasting for public show rather than as a sincere, private devotion to God.
- Zechariah 7:5 – “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?'”
Reflection: Our motivations for fasting should be examined to ensure they are centered on God, not on tradition or self-righteousness.
- 1 Samuel 7:6 – “When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.”
Reflection: Fasting should be accompanied by genuine confession and a willingness to turn away from sin.
- Luke 18:12 – “‘I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'”
Reflection: While fasting is commendable, it should not lead to pride or self-justification, as Jesus illustrates in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Fasting as Communion with God
- Acts 10:30 – “Cornelius answered: ‘Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me'”
Reflection: Fasting, coupled with prayer, can open us to profound spiritual experiences, as seen in Cornelius’s encounter with an angel.
- Luke 4:1-2 – “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry.”
Reflection: Fasting can lead us into deeper communion with God, as we follow the model of Jesus, who fasted in the wilderness.
- Acts 9:9 – “For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”
Reflection: In moments of spiritual turning points, such as Paul’s transformation, fasting can serve as a period of reflection and communion with God.
- Matthew 4:4 – “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”‘”
Reflection: Fasting reminds us of our dependence on God’s Word for sustenance, rather than on physical food alone.
- Exodus 34:28 – “Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
Reflection: Extended periods of fasting, such as Moses’s experience on Mount Sinai, can coincide with significant times of receiving God’s instructions.
Fasting and Community
- Acts 27:33 – “Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.'”
Reflection: Fasting, at times, may involve a whole community in dire circumstances, leading to shared experiences of God’s providence and deliverance.
- Nehemiah 9:1-2 – “On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads.”
Reflection: Corporate fasting serves as a powerful sign of solidarity and humility before God as a community seeks His face together.
- 1 Kings 21:27 – “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.”
Reflection: Sometimes an entire community, led by its leaders, is called to fast in repentance and seeking of mercy.
- Joel 1:14 – “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”
Reflection: Fasting can be a communal act of consecration and urgent entreaty before the Lord.
- Joel 2:15 – “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.”
Reflection: Fasting as part of a sacred assembly underscores the community’s unified pursuit of God’s will and forgiveness.
Personal Growth through Fasting
- Psalm 69:10 – “When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn; my knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.”
Reflection: Personal fasting, despite the physical challenges it may bring, symbolizes a heartfelt seeking of God’s grace and growth in resilience.
- Colossians 2:23 – “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
Reflection: It is important to recognize that fasting, while disciplining the body, is ultimately about cultivating a spirit-led life rather than just conforming to religious asceticism.
These verses provide a rounded perspective on the diverse reasons for and benefits of fasting in a believer’s life. Whether you are fasting for spiritual breakthrough, personal growth, or as a communal practice, let the Word of God anchor you in your purpose and strengthen you in your resolve.
May your times of fasting deepen your communion with the Lord and reinforce your reliance on His sustenance and guidance.
