30 Bible Verses About Fasting and Prayer

The Bible presents fasting as a way to humble ourselves, seek God in prayer, and depend on Him more than on food. Jesus fasted for 40 days, taught His followers how to fast, and said "when you fast," not "if you fast." Moses, Esther, Daniel, Nehemiah, and the early church all fasted when they needed God's guidance, mercy, or strength.

Whether you're joining your church's 21-day fast in January, observing Lent, or fasting on your own, these 30 verses will help you keep your focus on God. Each one includes a short note on why it matters while you fast.

Jump to a section:

• What Jesus said about fasting
• The purpose of fasting
• Fasting and prayer
• Fasting with humility and repentance
• Famous fasts in the Bible
• Verses for strength while you fast
• Types of fasts in the Bible
• How to pray while you fast
• Frequently asked questions

All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV).

‍

What Jesus Said About Fasting

Jesus didn't treat fasting as optional extra credit. He fasted Himself, and He gave clear instructions about how His followers should do it.

1. Matthew 6:17-18

"But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

This is the most direct teaching on fasting in the New Testament. In the verse just before (Matthew 6:16), Jesus warns against fasting like the hypocrites, who made sure everyone noticed. He assumes His followers will fast, and He wants it done quietly. A fast is between you and God.

2. Matthew 4:1-2

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry."

Before His public ministry began, Jesus prepared through 40 days of fasting. Many 40-day fasts, including Lent, follow His example.

3. 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."'"

When Satan tempted Him with food, Jesus answered with Scripture. Hunger during a fast is a reminder that God's Word sustains us in a way food never can.

4. Matthew 9:15

"The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast."

When people asked why His disciples didn't fast, Jesus compared Himself to a bridegroom at a wedding. He told His disciples that a season of fasting would come after He returned to the Father. Christians fast today as a way of longing for Him.

‍

The Purpose of Fasting

Fasting isn't a diet, and it isn't a way to earn God's favor. These verses show what God cares about when His people fast.

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, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?"

God rebuked Israel for fasting while ignoring the poor. The next verse goes further, calling His people to share food with the hungry and shelter the homeless. A fast that pleases God changes how we treat others. Consider giving the money you save on meals to someone in need.

6. Joel 2:12

"'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.'"

Fasting is an outward expression of an inward turning. God invites His people back to Him, no matter how far they've wandered.

7. 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?"

After decades of ritual fasts marking Jerusalem's destruction, God asked His people a hard question: who was the fast really for? Before you begin, ask yourself the same thing.

8. Psalm 51:17

"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

Going without food means little on its own. What God wants is a humble, open heart, and fasting can help get us there.

‍

Fasting and Prayer

In Scripture, fasting and prayer almost always go together. Fasting clears space; prayer fills it.

9. Ezra 8:23

"So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer."

Ezra led the returning exiles to fast and pray for protection on a dangerous journey. God heard them.

10. 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."

When Nehemiah learned Jerusalem's walls were broken down, his first response was to fast and pray. That season of prayer led to one of the great rebuilding projects in the Bible.

11. 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."

Daniel fasted while praying for his people. His prayer that follows (Daniel 9:4-19) is a model for confessing sin on behalf of a community.

12. 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.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

The church in Antioch received direction from the Holy Spirit while fasting. Paul's missionary journeys began from that time of worship and prayer.

13. Acts 14:23

"Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord..."

The early church fasted before making leadership decisions. Many churches still fast before calling a pastor or launching a new ministry.

‍

Fasting With Humility and Repentance

Throughout the Bible, fasting marks moments when people humble themselves before God, sometimes as individuals and sometimes as a whole community.

14. 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."

This is a call to a church-wide fast. When a community fasts together, it seeks God with one voice.

15. 2 Chronicles 20:3

"Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah."

Facing an overwhelming army, King Jehoshaphat called the nation to fast. God delivered them without a single battle (2 Chronicles 20:22-24).

16. Jonah 3:5

"The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth."

An entire city responded to God's warning by fasting, from the king to the poorest citizen.

17. Jonah 3:10

"When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened."

God responded to Nineveh's sincere repentance with mercy. Fasting paired with real change is never wasted.

18. James 4:10

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

Fasting is one of the most practical ways to humble yourself. God promises to meet the humble with grace.

‍

Famous Fasts in the Bible

These stories show the different reasons people fasted and the different forms a fast can take.

19. Exodus 34:28 (Moses)

"Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water."

Moses fasted while receiving God's covenant on Mount Sinai. This was a supernatural fast; never attempt to go without water.

20. Esther 4:16 (Esther)

"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 attendants will fast as you do."

Before going to the king uninvited, which could have cost her life, Esther asked her community to fast with her. She ended her request with the famous words "if I perish, I perish." It's one of the Bible's clearest examples of a group fast before a major decision.

21. Daniel 1:12 (Daniel)

"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink."

Daniel and his friends refused the king's food and ate only vegetables and water. This passage is one of the foundations of the modern "Daniel fast."

22. Daniel 10:2-3 (Daniel)

"At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips..."

Daniel also set aside lotions and other comforts until the three weeks were over. His three-week partial fast is why many churches hold a 21-day Daniel fast at the start of the year.

23. 2 Samuel 12:16 (David)

"David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground."

David fasted while pleading for his son's life. His story is an honest picture of fasting in grief, and of trusting God when the answer isn't what we hoped.

24. Luke 2:37 (Anna)

"She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying."

Anna was a widow in her eighties when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple. Her life of fasting and prayer prepared her to recognize the infant Jesus as the Messiah. Faithful, quiet devotion matters to God.

‍

Verses for Strength While You Fast

Fasting is hard, especially on day two or three. Read these when you feel weak, hungry, or discouraged.

25. Psalm 107:9

"for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

When your stomach is empty, remember who fills it. God is the one who satisfies every kind of hunger.

26. Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Let your physical hunger remind you of a deeper hunger. God promises to satisfy those who seek Him.

27. Psalm 63:1

"You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water."

David wrote this psalm in the desert. It's a fitting prayer for the moments when a fast feels like a dry land.

28. Isaiah 40:31

"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength."

When your energy is low, God is your source of strength. Isaiah goes on to promise that those who hope in Him will run and not grow weary.

29. 2 Corinthians 12:9

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"

Fasting makes us feel our weakness. That is exactly where God's power shows up.

30. Philippians 4:6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Bring the requests behind your fast to God with thanksgiving, and trust Him with the outcome. Paul promises in the next verse that God's peace will guard your heart and mind.

‍

Types of Fasts in the Bible

Not every fast in Scripture looks the same. If you're deciding how to fast, these are the main types you'll find in the Bible and in churches today.

• Normal fast. Going without food but drinking water. This is most likely what Jesus did in the wilderness, since Matthew says only that He was hungry afterward.
• Partial fast. Giving up certain foods rather than all food. Daniel's 10-day test and his three-week fast are the best-known examples, and they're the model for the modern Daniel fast.
• Absolute fast. Going without both food and water, as Esther and her community did for three days. This is rare in Scripture, short in length, and not something to attempt without medical advice.
• Corporate fast. A whole community fasting together, like Judah under Jehoshaphat, the city of Nineveh, or the church in Antioch. Many churches hold a corporate fast each January or during Lent.
• Non-food fast. Setting aside something other than food, such as social media, television, shopping, or another habit, to make more room for prayer. Scripture doesn't name this type directly, but it follows the same principle of giving something up to seek God.

Whatever type of fast you choose, the goal is the same: less of everything else, and more of God.

‍

How to Pray While You Fast

You don't need special words to pray during a fast. These simple practices can help.

1. Start with a clear purpose. Write down why you're fasting: guidance for a decision, repentance, healing, a breakthrough in a relationship, or simply to draw closer to God.
2. Replace meals with prayer. Use the time you would normally spend eating to read Scripture and pray. One verse from this list per meal is a good place to start.
3. Pray the verses back to God. Turn a verse into a prayer. For example, from Psalm 63:1: "God, I'm seeking You. My body is hungry, but I want to long for You even more."
4. Keep a journal. Note what you're praying for and anything you sense God showing you. Many people find this the most meaningful part of a fast.
5. Fast with others. Pray with a friend, small group, or your whole church. Like Esther and Nineveh, a shared fast builds unity.
6. End with thanksgiving. When your fast is over, thank God for what He did, whether or not you saw the answer you expected.

A note on health: Talk with your doctor before fasting if you're pregnant or nursing, take medication, or have a medical condition. A partial fast, like the Daniel fast, or a fast from something other than food, such as social media or entertainment, can be just as meaningful.

‍

Frequently Asked Questions about Prayer and Fasting

What does the Bible say about fasting?

The Bible describes fasting as a way to humble yourself before God, seek His help, and depend on Him more than food. Jesus taught His followers to fast privately and sincerely (Matthew 6:16-18), and fasting appears throughout both the Old and New Testaments, usually paired with prayer.

What kind of fasting pleases God?

According to Isaiah 58:6-7, the fast God desires goes beyond skipping meals. It includes humility, repentance, and caring for others: freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, and sheltering the poor. A fast done to impress others or to earn God's favor misses the point.

What are three biblical reasons to fast?

Three common reasons in Scripture are to seek God's guidance (Acts 13:2-3), to repent and humble yourself (Joel 2:12), and to ask for God's help in a crisis (Esther 4:16 and 2 Chronicles 20:3). People in the Bible also fasted in grief and to prepare for ministry.

How long did Jesus fast?

Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness before beginning His public ministry (Matthew 4:1-2). The 40 days of Lent are modeled on His fast.

What is a Daniel fast?

A Daniel fast is a partial fast based on Daniel 1:12 and Daniel 10:2-3. People typically eat only vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and water, and avoid meat, sweets, and rich foods. Many churches hold a 21-day Daniel fast in January.

Do Christians have to fast?

The Bible doesn't set a required schedule for fasting, but Jesus said "when you fast" (Matthew 6:16), which shows He expected His followers to practice it. How often and how long you fast is between you and God.

‍

_{Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved worldwide.}

‍