Bible Verses About Prayer and Fasting
Ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community
These are the Bible verses most often cited for prayer and fasting, ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community across 4,091 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 Prayer and Fasting
Matthew 6:16-18167 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 14:23149 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.
Isaiah 58:6132 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?
Acts 13:2114 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.
1 Corinthians 7:5111 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.
Luke 2:37105 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 13:3105 votes
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Nehemiah 1:490 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,
Joel 2:1286 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:
Esther 4:1683 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 10:381 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 8:21-2380 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.
Exodus 34:2876 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 4:469 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.
Matthew 9:14-1568 votes
Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
Joel 1:1467 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,
Psalms 35:1364 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.
Isaiah 58:364 votes
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
Ezra 8:2361 votes
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.
Psalms 69:1061 votes
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
Matthew 4:259 votes
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Matthew 6:1658 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.
Luke 4:257 votes
Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
Judges 20:2656 votes
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
Isaiah 58:1-1454 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.
What does the Bible say about prayer and fasting?
Readers most often cite Matthew 6:16-18 on the subject of prayer and fasting. Across 4,091 votes, 25 passages are commonly cited for this topic, including Acts 14:23, Isaiah 58:6, Acts 13:2. This page lists all 25 in ranked order, quoted in the King James Version, with each linked to its cross-references.