33 Bible Verses about Fasting, Nature Of

Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away.

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

And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying, that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at evening: from evening to evening shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD.

And they mourned and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they had fallen by the sword.

And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how will he then be grieved, if we tell him that the child is dead?read more.
But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate.

And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water: and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.

Being forty days tempted by the devil. And in those days he ate nothing; and when they were ended, he was afterward hungry.

And this shall be a statute for ever to you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.read more.
For whatever soul it may be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatever soul it may be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at evening: from evening to evening shall ye celebrate your sabbath.

And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: in it ye shall not do any work.

Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them.

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

When they had sent to the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, And to speak to the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? Then came the word of the LORD of hosts to me, saying,read more.
Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, even to me?

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:

And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.

And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take food, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried, and continued fasting, having taken nothing.

In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

And she was a widow of about eighty four years, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.