Prayer and fasting are two powerful spiritual disciplines that have been practiced by God’s people throughout Scripture. While prayer is our direct communication with God, fasting is the practice of abstaining from food or other things to focus more fully on seeking God. These Bible verses about prayer and fasting remind us that these disciplines draw us closer to God, increase our spiritual sensitivity, and release breakthroughs in situations that seem impossible. Understanding and practicing prayer and fasting transforms our spiritual lives and deepens our intimacy with God.
The Power and Importance of Prayer
Scripture reveals prayer as essential communication with God and a source of spiritual power:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
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.”
James 5:16 – “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Matthew 7:7-8 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
1 John 5:14-15 – “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
Matthew 21:22 – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Jesus’s Teaching on Prayer
Jesus taught and modeled the importance of prayer throughout His ministry:
Matthew 6:6 – “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Luke 11:9-10 – “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Mark 11:24 – “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Luke 18:1 – “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
John 14:13-14 – “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Matthew 6:9-13 – “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'”
Luke 6:12 – “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”
The Practice of Fasting
Biblical fasting is abstaining from food to focus on God and seek His face:
Matthew 6:16-18 – “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.”
Isaiah 58:6-7 – “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? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
Joel 2:12 – “Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
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.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
Ezra 8:23 – “So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
2 Chronicles 20:3 – “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”
Nehemiah 1:4 – “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”
Prayer and Fasting Combined
When combined, prayer and fasting create spiritual breakthrough and power:
Matthew 17:21 – “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Acts 14:23 – “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.”
1 Corinthians 7:5 – “Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
Daniel 9:3 – “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”
Luke 2:37 – “And then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”
Esther 4:16 – “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
Psalm 35:13 – “Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered.”
Praying with Faith and Persistence
Effective prayer requires faith, persistence, and alignment with God’s will:
Mark 11:22-24 – “Have faith in God, Jesus answered. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
James 1:6-7 – “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”
Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Romans 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
1 John 3:22 – “And receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.”
Colossians 4:2 – “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
Ephesians 6:18 – “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
God Responds to Prayer and Fasting
Scripture shows God’s faithfulness in responding to those who seek Him through prayer and fasting:
2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Jonah 3:5-10 – “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth… When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.”
Isaiah 58:9 – “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.”
Daniel 10:12 – “Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.'”
Psalm 34:17 – “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”
Acts 10:4 – “Cornelius stared at him in fear. ‘What is it, Lord?’ he asked. The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.'”
James 5:17-18 – “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
Deepening Your Relationship Through Spiritual Discipline
These Bible verses about prayer and fasting reveal that these spiritual disciplines are not religious duties but powerful tools for drawing near to God and experiencing His supernatural intervention. Prayer connects us with the heart of God, allowing us to communicate our needs, worship Him, intercede for others, and align our will with His purposes. Fasting intensifies our prayers by removing physical distractions, demonstrating our earnestness, and creating space for heightened spiritual sensitivity. Together, they form a dynamic combination that can break through spiritual opposition and bring breakthrough in impossible situations.
Many Christians today have lost the practice of fasting, viewing it as an outdated or extreme practice. Yet Scripture consistently shows that God’s people throughout history combined prayer with fasting during critical moments—when facing enemies, seeking guidance, mourning sin, or pursuing spiritual breakthrough. Jesus Himself fasted for forty days before beginning His ministry, and He taught His disciples not “if” they fast but “when” they fast. Fasting is not about manipulating God or earning His favor—it’s about positioning ourselves to hear His voice more clearly and demonstrating that we value Him more than our physical comfort or needs.
As you reflect on these scriptures, consider how you can incorporate both prayer and fasting more i
