27 Bible Verses about Fasting, Practice Of

Yea, even thus said the LORD unto me, "Thou shalt not pray to do this people good. For though they fast, I will not hear their prayers. And though they offer burnt offerings and sacrifices, yet will not I accept them. For I will destroy them with the sword, hunger, and pestilence."

Cry with the throat and spare not. Lift up thy voice as a trumpet, and tell my people their offences and the house of Jacob their sins. For me they seek day by day; and will know my ways, as a people that doth righteousness, and hath not forsaken the equity of their God. They seek of me righteous judgments, and will draw nigh unto God. Why have we fasted and thou hast not looked upon it? Have humbled our souls, and thou wouldest not wit it?read more.
Behold when ye fast, ye can find your own lusts, and can call cruelly on all your debtors. Ye fast to law and strive and to smite with fist wickedly. Fast not as ye now do, to make your voice to be heard upon high. Should it be such a manner of fast that I should chose? A day that a man should hurt his soul in? Or to bow down his head like a bulrush? Or to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Shouldest thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable unto the LORD? Or is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? To loose wicked bonds, and to unbind bundles of oppression? And to let the bruised go free? And that ye should break all manner yokes? Yea, and to break the bread to the hungry; and to bring the poor that are harborless unto house; and when thou seest a naked, that thou clothe him and that thou shouldest withdraw thyself from helping thine own flesh?

Then came the word of the LORD of Hosts unto me, saying, "Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, and say, 'When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, now this seventy years, did ye fast unto me? When ye ate also and drank, did ye not eat and drink for your own selves?read more.
Are not these the words, which the LORD spake by his prophets afore time, when Jerusalem was yet inhabited and wealthy, she and the cities round about her: when there dwelt men, both toward the south and in the plain countries?'"

"Moreover, when ye fast, be not sad as the hypocrites are: for they disfigure their faces, that they might be seen of men how they fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that it appear not unto men how that thou fastest, but unto thy father which is in secret: and thy father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

Then came the disciples of John to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?" And Jesus said unto them, "Can the wedding children mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees did fast, and they therefore came and said unto him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, and thy disciples fast not?" And Jesus said unto them, "Can the children of a wedding fast, while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them and then shall they fast in those days.

Then they said unto him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and pray: and the disciples of the Pharisees also: and thine eat and drink?" And he said unto them, "Can ye make the Children of the wedding fast, as long as the bridegroom is present with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them: then shall they fast in those days."

And the men of Israel joined themselves together that day: and Saul adjured the people, saying, "Cursed be he that eateth any food until night, that I may be avenged of mine enemies." And so there was none of the people that tasted any sustenance. And all the land came to a wood where honey lay upon the ground. And when the people were come into the wood: Behold, the honey dropped. Howbeit, there was no man that moved his hand to his mouth, because that the people feared the curse.read more.
But Jonathan heard not when his father adjured the people, wherefore he put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and dipped it in a honey comb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes received sight. Then spake one of the people, and said, "Thy father adjured the people, saying, 'Cursed be the man that eateth any sustenance this day.'" And yet the people were fainty. Then said Jonathan, "My father hath troubled the land: for see, mine eyes hath received sight, because I tasted a little of this honey. How then, if all the people had eaten of the spoil of their enemies which they found, had there not been then a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"

Nevertheless, when they were sick, I put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

When Ahab heard those words, he rent his clothes and put sackcloth about his flesh and fasted, and lay in sack and went comfortless. And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? Because he so submitteth himself before me, I will not bring that evil in his days: but in his son's days, I will bring evil upon his house."

And even there at the water beside Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and our children and all our substance.

I wept, and chastened myself with fasting, and that was turned to my reproof.

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water and poured it out before the LORD and fasted the same day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the causes of the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

In the four and twentieth day of this month came the children of Israel together with fasting, and sackcloth, and earth upon them, and separated the seed of Israel from all the strange children and stood and acknowledged their sins, and the wickedness of their fathers, and they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God four times on the day; and they acknowledged, and worshipped the LORD their God four times on the day.

Gird you, and make your moan, O ye priests: mourn ye ministers of the alter: go your way in, and sleep in sackcloth, O ye officers of my God: for the meat and drink offering shall be taken away from the house of your God. Proclaim a fasting, call the congregation, gather the elders and all the inhabiters of the land together in to the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.

And now therefore saith the LORD: Turn to me with all your hearts, in fasting and lamentation. And tear your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God. For he is full of mercy and compassion, long ere he be angry, and great in mercy and repentance when he is at the point to punish. Who can tell whether the Lord will turn and have compassion and shall leave after him a blessing? Sacrifice, and drink offering unto the LORD your God.read more.
Blow a trumpet in Zion, proclaim fasting and call a congregation.

When I heard these words, I sat me down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,

And even there at the water beside Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and our children and all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king, soldiers and horsemen, to help us against the enemy in the way. For we had said unto the king, "The hand of our God is upon all them that seek him in goodness, and his violence and wrath is upon all them that forsake him." So we fasted, and besought our God for this; and he heard us.

and I turned me unto God the LORD, for to pray and make mine intercession, with fasting, sack cloth and ashes.

Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief. For I say verily unto you, if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye should say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and he should remove: Neither should any thing be impossible for you to do.

And he said unto them, "This kind can by no other means come forth, but by prayer and fasting."

And she had been a widow about four score and four years of age, which went never out of the temple, but served God there with fasting and prayer night and day.

Then they said unto him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and pray: and the disciples of the Pharisees also: and thine eat and drink?"

Then fasted they and prayed, and put their hands on them, and let them go.

And when they had ordained them elders by election in every congregation, after they had prayed and fasted, they commended them to God on whom they believed.

Let the man give unto the wife due benevolence. Likewise also the wife unto the man. The wife hath not power over her own body: but the husband; And likewise the man hath not power over his own body: but the wife. Withdraw not yourselves one from another except it be with consent for a time, for to give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and afterward come again to the same thing, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency.

As they ministered to the Lord and fasted; The holy ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them."