Bible Verses About Fasting and Prayer
Ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community
These are the Bible verses most often cited for fasting and prayer, ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community across 14,042 votes, led by Matthew 6:16-18. Each passage links to its verse page or the interactive map; scripture is the King James Version.
Top verses about Fasting and Prayer
Matthew 6:16-18817 votes
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.
Acts 14:23575 votes
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.
Joel 2:12518 votes
Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
Mark 9:29416 votes
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Esther 4:16390 votes
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.
Acts 13:2382 votes
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.
Acts 13:3379 votes
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Isaiah 58:6372 votes
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?
Joel 1:14353 votes
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,
Luke 2:37344 votes
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.
Ezra 8:21-23318 votes
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.
1 Corinthians 7:5316 votes
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.
Nehemiah 1:4279 votes
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,
Ezra 8:23270 votes
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
Isaiah 58:1-14268 votes
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Daniel 10:3251 votes
I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Matthew 6:18232 votes
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.
Matthew 9:14-15222 votes
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
Matthew 6:16212 votes
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.
Matthew 4:4209 votes
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Exodus 34:28207 votes
And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Matthew 5:6196 votes
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Daniel 9:3195 votes
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Psalms 69:10187 votes
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
Psalms 35:13185 votes
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.
What does the Bible say about fasting and prayer?
Readers most often cite Matthew 6:16-18 on the subject of fasting and prayer. Across 14,042 votes, 25 passages are commonly cited for this topic, including Acts 14:23, Joel 2:12, Mark 9:29. This page lists all 25 in ranked order, quoted in the King James Version, with each linked to its cross-references.