27 Bible Verses about Fasting, Practice Of

And Jehovah saith unto me: Thou dost not pray for this people for good, When they fast, I hearken not unto their cry, And when they cause to ascend burnt-offering and present, I accept them not, For by sword, and by famine, And by pestilence, I am consuming them.

Call with the throat, restrain not, As a trumpet lift up thy voice, And declare to My people their transgression, And to the house of Jacob their sins; Seeing -- Me day by day they seek, And the knowledge of My ways they desire, As a nation that righteousness hath done, And the judgment of its God hath not forsaken, They ask of me judgments of righteousness, The drawing near of God they desire: 'Why have we fasted, and Thou hast not seen? We have afflicted our soul, and Thou knowest not.' Lo, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, And all your labours ye exact.read more.
Lo, for strife and debate ye fast, And to smite with the fist of wickedness, Ye fast not as to -day, To sound in the high place your voice. Like this is the fast that I choose? The day of a man's afflicting his soul? To bow as a reed his head, And sackcloth and ashes spread out? This dost thou call a fast, And a desirable day -- to Jehovah? Is not this the fast that I chose -- To loose the bands of wickedness, To shake off the burdens of the yoke, And to send out the oppressed free, And every yoke ye draw off? Is it not to deal to the hungry thy bread, And the mourning poor bring home, That thou seest the naked and cover him, And from thine own flesh hide not thyself?

And there is a word of Jehovah of Hosts unto me, saying: 'Speak unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying: When ye fasted with mourning in the fifth and in the seventh months -- even these seventy years -- did ye keep the fast to Me -- Me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, is it not ye who are eating, and ye who are drinking?read more.
Are not these the words that Jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets, in Jerusalem's being inhabited, and in safety, and its cities round about it, and the south and the plain -- abiding?'

'And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward. 'But thou, fasting, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou mayest not appear to men fasting, but to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father, who is seeing in secret, shall reward thee manifestly.

Then come to him do the disciples of John, saying, 'Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?' And Jesus said to them, 'Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast.

And the disciples of John and those of the Pharisees were fasting, and they come and say to him, 'Wherefore do the disciples of John and those of the Pharisees fast, and thy disciples do not fast?' And Jesus said to them, 'Are the sons of the bride-chamber able, while the bridegroom is with them, to fast? so long time as they have the bridegroom with them they are not able to fast; but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast -- in those days.

And they said unto him, 'Wherefore do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications -- in like manner also those of the Pharisees -- but thine do eat and drink?' And he said unto them, 'Are ye able to make the sons of the bride-chamber -- in the bridegroom being with them -- to fast? but days will come, and, when the bridegroom may be taken away from them, then they shall fast in those days.'

And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;' and none of the people hath tasted food. And all they of the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field; and the people come in unto the forest, and lo, the honey dropped, and none is moving his hand unto his mouth, for the people feared the oath.read more.
And Jonathan hath not heard of his father's adjuring the people, and putteth forth the end of the rod, which is in his hand, and dippeth it in the honeycomb, and bringeth back his hand unto his mouth -- and his eyes see! And a man of the people answereth and saith, 'Thy father certainly adjured the people, saying, Cursed is the man who eateth food to-day; and the people are weary.' And Jonathan saith, 'My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, that mine eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more if the people had well eaten to-day of the spoil of its enemies which it hath found, for now, the smiting hath not been great among the Philistines.'

And I -- in their sickness my clothing is sackcloth, I have humbled with fastings my soul, And my prayer unto my bosom returneth.

And it cometh to pass, at Ahab's hearing these words, that he rendeth his garments, and putteth sackcloth on his flesh, and fasteth, and lieth in sackcloth, and goeth gently. And the word of Jehovah is unto Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'Hast thou seen that Ahab hath been humbled before Me? because that he hath been humbled before Me, I bring not in the evil in his days; in the days of his son I bring in the evil on his house.'

And I proclaim there a fast, by the river Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our infants, and for all our substance,

And I weep in the fasting of my soul, And it is for a reproach to me.

And they are gathered to Mizpeh, and draw water, and pour out before Jehovah, and fast on that day, and say there, 'We have sinned against Jehovah;' and Samuel judgeth the sons of Israel in Mizpeh.

And in the twenty and fourth day of this month have the sons of Israel been gathered, with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them; and the seed of Israel are separated from all sons of a stranger, and stand and confess concerning their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers, and rise up on their station, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth of the day, and a fourth they are confessing and bowing themselves to Jehovah their God.

Gird, and lament, ye priests, Howl, ye ministrants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, ministrants of my God, For withheld from the house of your God hath been present and libation. Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders -- all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of Jehovah your God,

And also now -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation. And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful is He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil. Who knoweth -- He doth turn back, Yea -- He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God?read more.
Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast -- proclaim a restraint.

And it cometh to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn for days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.

And I proclaim there a fast, by the river Ahava, to afflict ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a right way for us, and for our infants, and for all our substance, for I was ashamed to ask from the king a force and horsemen to help us because of the enemy in the way, for we spake to the king, saying, 'The hand of our God is upon all seeking Him for good, and His strength and His wrath is upon all forsaking Him.' And we fast, and seek from our God for this, and He is entreated of us.

and I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.

And Jesus said to them, 'Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you,

And he said to them, 'This kind is able to come forth with nothing except with prayer and fasting.'

and she is a widow of about eighty-four years, who did depart not from the temple, with fasts and supplications serving, night and day,

And they said unto him, 'Wherefore do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications -- in like manner also those of the Pharisees -- but thine do eat and drink?'

then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent them away.

and having appointed to them by vote elders in every assembly, having prayed with fastings, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

to the wife let the husband the due benevolence render, and in like manner also the wife to the husband; the wife over her own body hath not authority, but the husband; and, in like manner also, the husband over his own body hath not authority, but the wife. Defraud not one another, except by consent for a time, that ye may be free for fasting and prayer, and again may come together, that the Adversary may not tempt you because of your incontinence;

and in their ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Separate ye to me both Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have called them,'