Bible verses about fasting

Fasting means going without something for a time in order to pray and pay attention to God. The Bible mentions it often and treats it as a way of asking for help, not a way of earning it. These verses come from the World English Bible. Pray the short prayer at the end.

Short answer

Matthew 6:16-18 says how fasting is meant to be done.

Jesus speaks to his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount: when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to people to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father will reward you. The audience is God, and nobody else has to know.

Matthew 6:16-18

Fasting for God, not for show

Jesus does not say if you fast. He says when you fast. He assumes that his followers will go without at times. His concern is the motive: do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, who disfigure their faces so that others see them fasting.

It is meant to be private and ordinary. If you decide to fast from food, from a certain app, or from your phone for an evening, you do not need to announce it.

Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:16-18

Keep it quiet. Tell only the person you share accountability with, if you have one.

What fasting is for

Isaiah 58 criticizes a fast that is only show. God asks what kind of fast he chooses: to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free. Then he adds sharing bread with the hungry and bringing the poor into your house.

The passage ties going without to caring for others. The Pharisee in Luke 18 who says I fast twice a week is the picture of a fast turned into a boast. A fast that turns you inward and makes you proud has missed the point. A fast that makes you more generous and more attentive has hit it.

Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Isaiah 58:6-7

The Pharisee stood and prayed by himself like this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men: extortionists, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’
Luke 18:11-12

Fasting and asking for help

In Ezra 8 the people fast at the river before a dangerous journey, to humble themselves before God and seek a safe path for their children. Ezra says he was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers, because they had told him that God's hand was for good on all who seek him. So they fasted and asked, and God answered their prayer.

Fasting here is a way of saying: I cannot do this alone. Psalm 35 has David say that when others were ill he humbled himself with fasting, and that his prayer returned into his heart.

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, for our little ones, and for all our possessions. For I was ashamed to ask of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is on all those who seek him, for good; but his power and his wrath is against all those who forsake him.” So we fasted and begged our God for this, and he granted our request.
Ezra 8:21-23

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom.
Psalm 35:13

Jesus fasted

Matthew 4 begins with Jesus led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. He fasted forty days and nights and was hungry. When the tempter came, Jesus answered from Scripture, saying that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God.

He went into temptation having been in prayer, and he did not rely on his strength. When people asked why his disciples did not fast, he answered that the time would come when the bridegroom is taken from them, and then they would fast.

A fast does not have to be dramatic or long. A single meal given to prayer, or an evening without your phone, can open the same space. The point is to notice a hunger or a pull, turn it into a prayer, and let God meet you there. End it with thanks, and go back to ordinary life with your eyes a little more open.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth.’”
Matthew 4:1-4

Then John’s disciples came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast?” Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom 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.
Matthew 9:14-15

Fasting in the church

Acts 13 says that as the church in Antioch ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said to set apart Barnabas and Saul. After they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. In Acts 14 the apostles appoint elders with prayer and fasting and entrust them to the Lord.

Fasting in the early church was linked with listening. It cleared room to hear what God wanted. If you are choosing a way forward, it can do that for you too.

As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Acts 13:2-3

When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord on whom they had believed.
Acts 14:23

Talk to a doctor before fasting from food if you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication. A fast from screens is a gentler option.

A prayer to say with these verses

Father, I want to go without in a way that draws me to you. Keep me from pride and from show. Make me more aware of my need and more attentive to others. Hear me, and lead me. Amen.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about fasting?

It treats it as a normal practice joined to prayer. Jesus says when you fast (Matthew 6:16) and warns against doing it for show.

Does fasting help with temptation?

Jesus fasted before he was tempted (Matthew 4:1-4). The Bible does not describe fasting as a guaranteed fix, but as a way of humbling yourself and seeking help.

Do I have to fast from food?

The Bible mentions food. Many people today choose to fast from a screen, social media or a certain app for a set time, with the same purpose of making room for prayer. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, talk to a doctor before fasting from food.

What is the right motive for fasting?

Matthew 6:18 says to fast to your Father who sees in secret. Isaiah 58 says it should lead to justice and generosity.

Is fasting required?

The New Testament shows it as a choice and a practice, not as a rule for earning anything. Matthew 9:15 says the time for it will come.

Sources

World English Bible (public domain), eBible.org

Checked on October 1, 2026.

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