Encouraging Bible Verses During Fasting
Let these verses encourage you when the hunger pangs come. You can do this hard thing! God will sustain you as you earnestly, fervently seek Him.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
To Express Love And Worship For God
Fasting can show, as John Piper says, that what we hunger for most, we worship.
How should we equip ourselves when God calls us to declare a holy fast? Here are some things to consider as you prepare for fasting:
Pray and confess your sinsA necessary step before fasting is to humble yourself before God and confess your sins . Prayer should be our sustenance throughout the fast, but it is imperative we begin the fast with a contrite heart.
Turn to ScriptureSpend additional time meditating on Gods Word, before and during the fast.
Keep it secretFasting is unbiblical and even spiritually harmful when we do it to show off our spirituality or when we focus more on our own fasting than on the clear needs of others . Dont boast about your fast tell people you wont be eating only if necessary. Fasting should not be done when imposed for false motives .
Prepare your bodyFasting, especially for days or weeks, can have unexpected and even detrimental effects on your health. There is no scriptural warrant for harming yourself to undergo a fast. Be sure to consult a doctor before starting any fasting regimen to make sure you can fast in a healthy manner.
Fasting is an appropriate bodily reaction to the grievous state of our soul. If it is done correctly you can expect many results, including growing closer to God, feeling more solidarity with those who suffer, and increasing self-control.
Prayer To Align With God’s Heart
Lord, I want to get Your Word so deep into my heart that it becomes MY word! I want to see things the way You see them, hear things the way You hear them, and feel things the way You feel them. I want to get so aligned with You that our hearts beat in syncopation together. I thank You that once Your Word gets that deeply rooted in my heart, my spoken words will release rivers of power and authority against the works of the devil that he has designed for my destruction! I thank You that just as Your words created the universe, my spoken words of faith create a change in my atmosphere! I pray this in Jesus’ name!
Read Also: Can I Have Bone Broth While Fasting
Fasting Is An Express Of Humility
15. Psalm 35:13-14 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.
16. 1 Kings 21:25-27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.
Scriptures About The Benefits Of Prayer And Fasting
Prayer and fasting can result in many benefits as seen in the scriptures below.
So He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting. Mark 9:29
This scripture is evidence that there are some strongholds that cannot be loosened without the combination of prayer and fasting.
So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and He answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23
In this verse, we can see clearly that a benefit of prayer and fasting is answered prayer.
But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. Matthew 6:17-18
This verse in Matthew is given by Jesus Himself, who says that God rewards those who fast in the correct manner.
Recommended Reading: How To Do Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
Prayer Before A Fast Begins
Lord, as I begin this time of fasting, fill me with your strength. Help me to use this as a time of growth, renewal, and healing. Calm my anxiety about what I might be giving up or times of discomfort that I might face.
Provide me with assurance that You will strengthen me during the difficult times and meet me for sweet moments of spiritual growth and surrender.
Help me focus not on what is being taken away, but what Im gaining as I use this as a spiritual discipline. With you leading, Holy Spirit, I am ready.
I dedicate this fast to You, Lord, and to Your glory.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Christian Quotes About Fasting
Fasting helps express, deepens, confirms the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God. Andrew Murray
By fasting, the body learns to obey the soul by praying the soul learns to command the body. William Secker
Fasting restrains our physical pleasure, but it enhances our spiritual pleasure. Our greatest pleasure comes by feasting on the person of Jesus.
Fasting reduces the influence of our self-will and invites the Holy Spirit to do more intense work in us.
Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God.
Prayer is reaching out after the unseen fasting is letting go of all that is seen and temporal. Fasting helps express, deepen, confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves to attain what we seek for the kingdom of God. Andrew Murray
Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer. Andrew Bonar
Fasting in the biblical sense is choosing not to partake of food because your spiritual hunger is so deep, you determination in intercession so intense, or your spiritual warfare so demanding that you have temporarily set aside even fleshly needs to give yourself to prayer and meditation. Wesley Duewel
You May Like: What To Expect From Intermittent Fasting
When Should I Fast
In the Old Testament we can read that Gods people would many times proclaim a fast whenever they had a great fear of an enemy or were about to undergo a risky task. In the case of the Ninevites we see that fasting can also be an outward sign of repentance. Fasting with prayer can insure us that we are in Gods will when our way is uncertain.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 2 Chronicles 20:3
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 8:21
Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Joel 1:14-15
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. Jonah 3:5
Most importantly, pray believing that God will hear and answer. I promise you that God will give you a reason to praise Him.
Why Should You Fast
According to Dr. Bill Bright, who produced a guide to fasting for cru.org, there are a number of reasons why the practice of fasting can be spiritually beneficial.
- Fasting is biblical. We see examples of biblical fasting in the lives of figures like Moses, Jesus, and King David.
- Fasting and prayer can restore or strengthen your intimacy with God. Many longtime Christians find that fasting helps them rediscover their first love for God again.
- Fasting is a way to humble yourself in the sight of God . King David said, I humbled my soul with fasting . You may find yourself relying on God more fully for strength when you fast.
- Fasting and prayer can help us hear God more clearly. To listen to God as you fast, consider combining a time of fasting with a practice of listening prayer. Together, fasting and prayer can transform your prayer life into a richer and more personal experience of God.
- Fasting enables the Holy Spirit to reveal your true spiritual condition. When you see your own brokenness more clearly, youre able to move toward repentance.
- When you experience revival in your own life through fasting, the grace and love of God can shine through you into the lives of others.
Read Also: How Many Hours In Intermittent Fasting
The City Of Nineveh Spared
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them and he did it not.
What a wonderful example for us of not only the power of fasting and prayer, but also the power of humble repentance! God rewards such fasting and prayer with His mercy! That kind of prayer changes things with God! To the point that God changes His predetermined course of action in answer to their prayers!
The Jews Protected Returning From Captivity
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.
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
As Ezra prepared to lead the Jews from captivity back to Jerusalem, he and the people fasted and prayed, seeking the Lord for protection from enemies as they traveled. And God heard and answered!
Also Check: Why Is Fasting Good For Weight Loss
How Should Christians Go About This Practice
Too much fasting is detrimental to health and extreme fasting over a long period of time can cause death. Fasting for a few days probably won’t hurt most people who are healthy, provided they don’t get dehydrated, but fasting for long periods of time is bad for your body. Fatigue, dizziness, constipation, dehydration, and temperature sensitivity may result from fasting. Diabetics and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not fast if they wish to remain healthy.
Without supernatural intervention from God, such as with Moses and Jesus, the body can function only for three days without water. A complete or absolute fast without food or liquid of any kind should be short. Seek medical advice before a fast longer than a day or two.
Fasting may have health benefits as well and could be considered a way to honor our bodies as temples of God. You may choose to fast from sugar or some other unhealthy element that is normally a regular, even daily, part of your diet. Perhaps you choose to eat only fruits and vegetables for the length of a fast, refraining from all meat. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables would benefit your body. Losing weight on a fast is also beneficial to your health, although fasting confuses your bodys metabolism and it is likely you will quickly gain back any weight you lost during a fast as soon as you begin to eat and drink again.
Prayer For Breaking A Fast
God, the time of my fast is coming to an end.
Thank you for giving me the strength to carry this out. I have grown in strength and in my relationship with You. I know I could never have done this by my own power.
As this time of restraint finishes, lead me in my next steps. Help me move slowly and gently back into a regular pattern of behavior. Help me not to go crazy with pent-up desire but instead, move with grace and intention.
I trust Your guidance, Lord.
In Jesus name I ask this, Amen.
Don’t Miss: How Long Does Intermittent Fasting Take To Lose Weight
Fasting To Hear God Speak
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. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
If we would hear God speak to us and give us the guidance we are seeking, we must first get serious about seeking Him. Fasting helps us do that.
A 40 Day Complete Biblical Fast
Our examples of a 40 day complete fast are Jesus and Moses who took things to the extreme by having no food or water for 40 days.
- So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
- And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
Please note that these are extreme examples of fasting and prayer and you should never consider this until after consulting a doctor.
Also Check: How To Start Fasting For Health
Fast For Intimacy With God Not Praise From Man
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, 1so 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
As Christians, our intentions matter. Our faith takes life to a level unseen. It is possible to do everything right on the outside, but without the proper heart, it doesnt serve its purpose.
Fasting is one of those things.
If you are fasting to be seen by others as a good Christian,youre doing it wrong.
If youre fasting with a heart that can only focus on the things you lack and not a hunger that drives you into the arms of your Savior to satisfy your needs, youre doing it wrong.
Dont fast for attention, recognition, or the sake of not-so-silent suffering through the 40 days of Lent.
Fast to draw nearer to God and rely on Him on deeper levels than you have before.
A Partial Biblical Fast
A Partial fast can also be called a 3 day spiritual fast. In Daniel, we also see believers who ate fruit, veggies and drank water for 10 days to honor God while in captivity.
Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.
The Daniel Fast is a partial fast that has gotten a lot of attention in the past decade. The basic idea behind this fast is to have no meat, no tasty bread, no wine, no oils for his skin, for 21 days.
- I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.
- So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
These would have been things that satisfied Daniel.
The world latches onto the specifics of his fasting because of the power that came and the answers to prayer that he saw but what they miss is that fasting and prayer were his habits.
The Daniel fast was not powerful because of what Daniel gave up, but rather because of the humility of Daniels life.
Also Check: What To Eat Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
New Testament Scriptures On Fasting
Fasting is not required on a regular basis for us New Testament believers, but is definitely something the Lord still honors and expects from us His children as evidenced by the below scriptures, and many others.
Im thankful to say that there have been several times when I felt the Holy Spirit impress upon me to add fasting to my prayers. And thankfully, with His help, I did. And God answered! To His praise and glory!
Encouraging Scriptures For Fasting
In the book of Matthew, Jesus explains the difference between observing Jewish laws and traditions and practicing true spirituality. Jesus says, What goes into someones mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them . The Pharisees in Jesus time had difficulty understanding this concept. They remained bound by the laws and traditions of the Old Testament, known to the Pharisees as the Jewish Torah.
Feeding our own stomachs is not as important as feeding others out of our hearts. On this topic, here is a conversation from the book of Isaiah, between God and the woebegone Israelites:
A true sacrifice to Godwhile recognizing that fasting is a type of sacrificeis a broken and contrite heart . God knows our hearts .
Joel 2:12-13 says, Even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled Matthew 5:6.
Read Also: How To Start Intermittent Fasting Again
