Fasting and Praying have a great deal of significance in the Bible that’s why I want to share 20 Scriptures on fasting and praying with you today. It’s more important than ever to stay in God’s Word and listen for His voice.

Why Fasting and Praying are Important in the Bible

There are many reasons why fasting and praying are important including both spiritual and practical purposes. Here are a few reasons:

1. Spiritual Discipline and Humility: Fasting involves denying oneself of physical needs (typically food) to focus on spiritual growth and discipline. It humbles the soul before God, recognizing dependence on Him (Psalm 35:13, Daniel 10:3).
2. Seeking God’s Guidance and Will: Fasting is often coupled with prayer to seek God’s guidance, wisdom, and intervention in critical matters. Examples include Esther’s fast before approaching the king (Esther 4:16) and the church in Antioch fasting before sending out missionaries (Acts 13:2-3).
3. Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness: Fasting can accompany repentance and seeking forgiveness from God. The people of Nineveh fasted when confronted by Jonah’s message, leading to God’s mercy and forgiveness (Jonah 3:5-10).
4. Spiritual Warfare: Jesus highlighted fasting as a means of spiritual warfare and overcoming spiritual challenges (Matthew 17:20-21). It strengthens faith and helps believers resist temptations.
5. Expressing Devotion and Worship: Fasting can be an expression of deep devotion and worship, demonstrating a commitment to God’s will and kingdom (Luke 2:37).
6. Aid in Decision Making: Fasting and prayer help believers make important decisions by seeking God’s direction and clarity (Acts 14:23).
7. Unity and Corporate Repentance: Fasting can be a corporate expression of repentance, seeking God’s mercy and intervention for a community or nation (Joel 2:12-13).
8. Physical and Spiritual Cleansing: Fasting is believed to have physical benefits but is primarily about spiritual cleansing and renewal (Isaiah 58:6-7).
9. Drawing Near to God: Fasting and prayer help believers draw nearer to God, deepening intimacy with Him and aligning their hearts with His purposes (James 4:8).
10. Demonstrating Dependence on God: By fasting, believers acknowledge their dependence on God’s provision and seek His sufficiency in all aspects of life (Matthew 6:16-18).

Overall, fasting and praying are important spiritual disciplines that help you with spiritual growth, deepen faith, and align you with God’s will and purposes.

They are a way of expressing devotion, seeking guidance, and experiencing God’s presence and power in a profound way.

As such here are 20 scriptures on fasting and praying KJV to get you started on your journey.

20 Scriptures on Fasting and Praying KJV

1. Matthew 6:16-18 – “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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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.”
2. Acts 13:2-3 – “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.”
3. Acts 14:23 – “And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.”
4. Daniel 9:3-4 – “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said…”
5. Joel 2:12 – “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:“
6. 2 Samuel 12:16-17 – “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 up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.”
7. 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,”
8. 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.”
9. 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.”
10. Isaiah 58:6-7 – “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? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?”
11. Psalm 35:13 – “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.”
12. Mark 9:29 – “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.”
13. Matthew 17:20-21 – “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
14. Matthew 6:16-18 – “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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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.”
15. Acts 10:30 – “And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,”
16. Matthew 9:14-15 – “Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.”
17. Zechariah 8:19 – “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.”
18. 1 Corinthians 7:5 – “Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.”
19. Matthew 4:1-2 – “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.”
20. Ezra 8:23 – “So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.”

Conclusion

In short, fasting and praying are very important aspects of our Christian faith. It affects every part of our lives- emotional, practical, and spiritual. By putting these Biblical concepts into action, we can strengthen our relationship with God, hear Him better, have greater peace, faith, strength, joy and more.

These scriptures are from the KJV of the Bible, but you can easily translate them into whatever version of the Bible that you use if you use the Bible app. You can also just look them up in your Bible at home.

However, you can also use the Bible Gateway online to easily switch between different versions of the Bible to get the full meaning.

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