Praying and fasting are long-standing, life-changing routines that increase our spiritual awareness and bring us closer to God. We purposefully give up material luxuries while fasting in order to concentrate on our connection with God, which enables us to seek His presence with a deeper feeling of dependency and humility. Numerous Scriptures in the Bible support and direct us in our endeavors, providing insight, fortitude, and assurances that enable us to deeply feel God’s might and direction.
Bible Verses To Read While Fasting And Praying
Every Bible text that we examine in relation to prayer and fasting has special insights and promises that we can rely on. Scriptures such as Matthew 6:16–18 remind us that while we fast, we should maintain a humble attitude and concentrate only on God, not on gaining attention from others. Other verses, such as Isaiah 58:6 and Joel 2:12, emphasize how fasting may lead to repentance and increase empathy for others while demonstrating God’s desire for justice and healing in the world.
1. Matthew 6:16-18
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do…so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father.”
2. Joel 2:12
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
3. Ezra 8:23
“So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
4. Psalm 35:13
“I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayers returned to me unanswered.”
5. 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?”
6. Matthew 17:21
“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
7. 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.”
8. Acts 13:2-3
“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.’”
9. 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.”
10. 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.”
11. Psalm 69:10
“When I wept and humbled myself with fasting, I was scorned.”
12. Luke 4:2
“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.”
13. 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.”
14. Isaiah 58:3
“Why have we fasted…why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed? Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please.”
15. Jonah 3:5
“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.”
16. Psalm 109:24
“My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.”
17. Mark 9:29
“And he said unto them, ‘This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.'”
18. Acts 14:23
“Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord.”
19. 2 Samuel 12:16
“David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground.”
20. Isaiah 58:9
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
21. Matthew 9:15
“The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.”
22. Psalm 50:15
“Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
23. Isaiah 58:8
“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear.”
24. Acts 10:30
“Cornelius answered: ‘Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon.'”
25. 1 Kings 21:27
“Ahab tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.”
26. Zechariah 7:5
“When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?”
27. Ezra 8:21
“There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God.”
28. Matthew 4:2
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
29. Nehemiah 9:1
“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth.”
30. Psalm 86:3
“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.”
31. Joel 1:14
“Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land.”
32. 1 Corinthians 9:27
“I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
33. Isaiah 58:11
“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land.”
34. Acts 27:33-34
“For the last fourteen days, you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food.”
35. Luke 2:37
“She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
36. Jeremiah 36:9
“In the ninth month a fast before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem.”
37. Psalm 42:2
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
38. Mark 2:20
“But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”
39. Isaiah 58:7
“Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.”
40. Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
41. 2 Chronicles 20:3
“Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”
42. Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
43. Isaiah 40:31
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.”
44. Hebrews 12:2
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
45. Exodus 34:28
“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water.”
46. Philippians 4:6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
47. Romans 12:1
“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
48. Psalm 63:1
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you.”
49. Isaiah 58:9
“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
50. Psalm 145:18
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”
The experiences of biblical characters who trusted in God’s power during difficult times might serve as a source of inspiration as we reflect on Bible scriptures pertaining to prayer and fasting. These verses remind us that God is always there, willing to listen and act on our behalf, whether we are fasting for personal guidance, healing, or intercession for others. As you seek God’s face in humility and faith, may these Scriptures uplift, fortify, and draw you nearer to Him.
