What does the Bible say about fasting? If you’re unfamiliar with the practice of fasting, let me quickly summarize what it means. Fasting is the act of starving our flesh for a certain amount of days in order to feed our spirit and seek God intentionally. Disclaimer: I am *no fasting expert*. In fact, I’ve only done it a few times. However, I’ve challenged myself to get a better understanding of what fasting is and practice it more this year. So, bear with me as I learn along with you. In this post you will find 20 key bible verses about fasting and fasting examples in the Bible that we can learn from!
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27 Bible Verses About Fasting And Fasting Examples
God encourages us to fast.
1. Joel 2:12
“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” (NKJV)
The fasting God wants.
2. Isaiah 58:6
Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? (NKJV)
3. 1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (NKJV)
4. Zechariah 7:5
Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? (NKJV)
5. Matthew 9:14-15
Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (NKJV)
Fasting DONT’S
6. Isaiah 58:5
Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? (NKJV)
7. Matthew 6:17-18
But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (NKJV)
8. Matthew 6:16
Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. (NKJV)
The power of fasting
9. Mark 9:29
So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (NKJV)
10. Ezra 8:23
So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. (NKJV)
Examples of fasting in the Bible
11. Jesus fasted – Luke 4:1-2
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. (NKJV)
12. Moses fasted – Exodus 34:28
So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (NKJV)
13. Daniel fasted – Daniel 10:3
I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. (NKJV)
14. Daniel fasted – Daniel 9:3
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. (NKJV)
15. Daniel fasted – Daniel 10:3
Acts 13:3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. (NKJV)
16. Esther fasted – Esther 4:16
Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish! (NKJV)
17. Nehemiah fasted – Nehemiah 1:4
So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (NKJV)
18. Anna fasted – Luke 2:37
And this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (NKJV)
19. Ezra fasted – Ezra 8:21
Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. (NKJV)
20. David fasted – 2 Samuel 12:16
David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. (NKJV)
21. Ahab fasted – 1 Kings 21:27
So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. (NKJV)
22. The people from Nineveh fasted – Jonah 3:5
So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. (NKJV)
23. The church fasted – Acts 13:2
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (NKJV)
24. The church fasted – Acts 14:23
So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (NKJV)
25. The Israelites fasted – 2 Samuel 1:12
And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. (NKJV)
26. The Israelites fasted – 1 Samuel 7:6
So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. (NKJV)
27. The Israelites fasted – Judges 20:26
Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (NKJV)
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FINAL THOUGHTS
I hope you this post sparked your curiosity on fasting and inspired you to practice fasting this year. Let me know in the comments below which bible verse about fasting you enjoyed the most.
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Sending you blessings & love,
Gabby Abigail
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