Fasting is a time of humbling oneself before God, seeking His guidance, and drawing closer to Him. Through fasting, we can experience breakthroughs, receive wisdom, and express repentance. Below are 10 Bible verses that highlight the importance and power of fasting in the life of a believer.
1. Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV): “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 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.”
2. Joel 2:12 (NIV): “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
3. Ezra 8:23 (NIV): “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
4. Isaiah 58:6 (NIV): “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?”
5. Acts 14:23 (NIV): “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.”
6. Daniel 9:3 (NIV): “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
7. Nehemiah 1:4 (NIV): “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
8. Luke 4:2 (NIV): “For forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”
9. Psalm 35:13 (NIV): “Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered…”
10. 2 Chronicles 20:3 (NIV): “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”
Fasting, as seen throughout Scripture, is a powerful way to draw near to God and seek His will. Whether it is in times of repentance, spiritual growth, or seeking divine intervention, fasting brings about a deep connection to God and allows for breakthroughs that would otherwise be unattainable.