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Fasting should have a clear purpose and it must be clearly defined. However, people in the Bible fasted and prayed because they wanted something specific to happen. Fasting is taking your mind off of the things of this world in order to focus more on the things of God.
Fasting is the connection between you and God. With various types of fasting, it is therefore important to fast not because there is no money to feed or you wanted the world to know that you are fasting. Bible should be the standard or backing for your fasting and prayers. For example, if you embark on serious fast without prayers, then its just a spiritual exercise done in vanity.
Bible Verses To Take During Fasting And Prayers
1. 1 Thess 5:17 & 19, Pray without ceasing. Vs 19, Quench not the Spirit.
2. Isaiah 58:6,Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness,to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
3. Nehemiah 1:4, 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,
4. Acts 13:2-3, While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
13.And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
WARFARE SCRIPTURES
Dont Fast To Be Seen As Spiritual
17. Matthew 6:17-18 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.
18. Luke 18:9-12 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other peoplerobbers, evildoers, adulterersor even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
Reminders
19. Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
20. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
21. Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.
22. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is Gods will for you in Christ Jesus.
How To Fast According To Scripture
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. ~ Matthew 6:16-18
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, Why do we and the Pharisee fast, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved. ~ Matthew 9:14-17
Meg Bucher gives a summary for fasting saying, “Fasting is a form of worship, an acknowledgment that we need God more than food. Fasting is not the same as a diet nor is losing weight the goal of a fast. Gratitude for the food God provides gives worship to God! In all we do, the aim is to keep God on the throne of our hearts, the center of our lives, and the top of our minds.”
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Bible Verses About Fasting
Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
And all the inhabitants of the landTo the house of the Lord your God,And cry out to the Lord.
Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
Why have we fasted and You do not see?Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,And drive hard all your workers.
Yet even now, declares the Lord,Return to Me with all your heart,And with fasting, weeping and mourning
Thus says the Lord of hosts, The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah so love truth and peace.
Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?Is it for bowing ones head like a reedAnd for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
Fasting Scriptures For Spiritual Breakthrough
Bible verses to read when fasting for spiritual breakthrough:
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Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Matthew 17:21However, this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.
Luke 2:37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
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Fasting Scriptures In The Bible Kjv
Bible Verse About Fasting:
Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
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Nehemiah 1:4 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,
Nehemiah 9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloths, and earth on them.
Ezra 8:21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to , and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
1 Kings 21:9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
1 Kings 21:12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
1 Kings 21:27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Psalms 109:24 My knees are weak through fasting and my flesh fails of fatness.
Return To God With Repentance
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Joel 2:12
Return to me.
What a powerful phrase coming from our Almighty God.
This was a call to repentance, for the people to return to Gods mercy and steadfast love.
And one of the ways to show their truly repentant heart was through fasting.
Even here in the Old Testament, God was not asking for the act of fasting alone. Fasting was a way to show that they desired to return to God with all of their heart.
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Different Types Of Fasting In The Bible
JaimeBible StudyJanuary 20, 2021
There are many types of fasting in the Bible, various reasons for fasting, and different lengths of fasts. All are important and good to refer to when we are fasting to draw closer to God. Fasting without prayer is pointless it is a given that the time you would be spending eating or enjoying other things would be spent instead in prayer and consecration. Those two together will move heaven and earth! This is what makes Biblical fasting different than other types of fasting.
Fasting Scriptures For Spiritual Growth
Bible verses to study when youre fasting for spiritual growth :
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Acts 13:3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
1 Corinthians 7:5 Defraud you not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch you, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
Acts 13:2 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.
2 Corinthians 6:5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings
2 Corinthians 11:27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel
Daniel 9:3 And I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Joel 2:12 Therefore also now, said the LORD, turn you even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
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What Does Fasting Do Spiritually
Before we finish together I want to point out something in most of these fasting and prayer scriptures. Look at the examples in Daniel and Esther specifically?
Those people were in a desperate spiritual state as well as a desperate physical state. Their lives were in danger. Life was hard in a way we will never understand in the 21st Century Western Church.
When they needed to draw near to God, when they needed answers, when they needed spiritual breakthrough they took prayer to the next level and fasted.
Those are some amazing fasting scriptures for breakthrough! If God showed up for them He can show up for you. Write those verses out, pray over them, remind God of His promises, and be strengthened in your faith today!
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
What fasting does spiritually is draw your heart in humility nearer to the heart of God.
And when you are humble and near the Father, you can hear His voice answer prayers. You can feel his breath move, you can see the future He has for you in hope and joy.
The reward of fasting in the Bible is always a closer walk with God, healing either spiritually or physically and peace even when life is hard.
Fasting and Prayer can change both your heart and a nations heart
Fasting does so much for us spiritually but a look at this example of fasting in Nehemiah shows us that it is also powerful enough to heal and unite a nations heart to God.
Reasons Why Fasting And Prayer Is Important
- To get answers to our prayers
- We also pray and fast to get strength from God to fight the devil and every evil arrows that might be thrown at us by the evil ones . Just as we saw in Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, we need the power of Jesus to fight and overcome. Also through the help of the Holy spirit we can overcome.
- When we pray and fast chains are broken, the captives are free , those who mourn begin to smile and be comforted, for instance we see that when Paul and Silas were in prison they fasted and prayed and they were freed and released.
In one of Jesus preaching on fasting and prayer He said in the book of Matthew 6:16
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
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Encouraging Bible Verses About Fasting
Bible Verses About Fastings
*All Bible verses below are taken from the NKJV Bible. If you hover over the verse reference you will be able to read the AMP version.
Fasting is not just a physical discipline it can be a spiritual feast.
Matthew 6:16-18 NKJV 16 Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who in the secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
Joel 2:12 NKJV 12 Now, therefore, says the LORD, Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
Luke 4:1-2 NKJV 1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
Daniel 10:3 NKJV 3 I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Acts 14:23 NKJV 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Matthew 17:21 NKJV 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
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