Bible Verses About Fasting and Praying
Ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community
These are the Bible verses most often cited for fasting and praying, ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community across 5,620 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 Praying
Matthew 6:16-18194 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 13:2176 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.
Joel 2:12152 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:
Acts 14:23151 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.
Esther 4:16143 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.
Daniel 10:3143 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.
Ezra 8:21-23122 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.
Ezra 8:23118 votes
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
Luke 2:37117 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.
Acts 13:3116 votes
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Nehemiah 1:4108 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,
1 Corinthians 7:5108 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.
Isaiah 58:6106 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?
Matthew 6:16105 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.
Exodus 34:28101 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.
Psalms 35:1396 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.
Ezra 8:2187 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.
Mark 9:2987 votes
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Daniel 9:381 votes
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Matthew 6:1-3481 votes
Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 6:1881 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 6:17-1878 votes
But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Luke 18:1278 votes
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luke 4:1-277 votes
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Jonah 3:5-971 votes
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.
What does the Bible say about fasting and praying?
Readers most often cite Matthew 6:16-18 on the subject of fasting and praying. Across 5,620 votes, 25 passages are commonly cited for this topic, including Acts 13:2, Joel 2:12, Acts 14:23. This page lists all 25 in ranked order, quoted in the King James Version, with each linked to its cross-references.