27 Bible Verses about Fasting, Practice Of

And LORD said to me, Pray not for this people for good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.

Cry aloud, spare not. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways. As a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God. Why have we fasted, [they say], and thou see not? We have afflicted our soul, and thou take no knowledge. Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact from all your laborers.read more.
Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness. Ye do not fast this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I have chosen, the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to a hungry man, and that thou bring the poor who are cast out to thy house, when thou see a naked man, that thou cover him, and that thou not hide thyself from thine own flesh?

Then the word of LORD of hosts came to me, saying, Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh [month], even these seventy years, did ye at all fast to me, even to me? And when ye eat, and when ye drink, do ye not eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?read more.
[Should ye] not [hear] the words which LORD cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?

And when ye fast, become not like the gloomy looking hypocrites, for they make their faces unsightly, so that they may appear fasting to men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when thou fast, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, so that thou may not appear fasting to men, but to thy Father in secret. And thy Father, who sees in secret, will reward thee.

Then the disciples of John come to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said to them, The sons of the wedding hall cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

And John's disciples and those of the Pharisees were fasting. And they come and say to him, Why do John's disciples and those of the Pharisees fast, but the disciples with you do not fast? And Jesus said to them, The sons of the wedding hall cannot 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 is taken away from them, and then they will they fast in those day.

And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink. And he said to them, Ye cannot make the sons of the wedding hall fast while the bridegroom is with them. But the days will also come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.

And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man who eats any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted food. And all the people came into the forest, and there was honey upon the ground. And when the people came to the forest, behold, the honey dropped, but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.read more.
But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath, therefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened. Then one of the people answered, and said, Thy father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man who eats food this day, and the people were faint. Then Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land. See, I pray you, how my eyes have been enlightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For now there has been no great slaughter among the Philistines.

But as for me, when they were sick my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned into my own bosom.

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, See thou how Ahab humbles himself before me? Because he humbles himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.

When I wept in my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.

And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against LORD. And Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah.

Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of LORD their God a fourth part of the day, and [another] fourth part they confessed, and worshipped LORD their God.

Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests. Wail, ye ministers of the altar. Come, lay all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. For the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withheld from the house of your G Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of LORD your God, and cry to LORD.

Yet even now, says LORD, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents of the evil. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering to LORD your God?read more.
Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.

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

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek of him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those who seek him, for good, but his power an So we fasted and besought our God for this, and he was entreated by us.

And I set my face to LORD God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief. For truly I say to you, if ye have faith as a grain of a mustard plant, ye will say to this mountain, Remove from here to there, and it will depart, and nothing will be impossible t

And he said to them, This kind can come out by nothing, except by prayer and fasting.

and this woman was a widow to eighty-four years), who did not depart from the temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day.

And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make supplications, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but thine eat and drink.

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

And having appointed elders for them in every congregation, having prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord, in whom they had believed.

Let the husband render the goodwill owed to the wife, and likewise also the wife to the husband. The wife has not the right of her private body, but the husband, and likewise also the husband has not the right of his private body, but the wife. Do not defraud each other except from agreement for a time, so that ye may have time for fasting and prayer. And come together again for the same thing, so that Satan not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

And while they were serving the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Separate to me now Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them.