Prayer is central to the life of every Christian. However, there are times when God calls us to not only pray but to fast. So what does the bible say about fasting?

In  Mark 9:14-29 (NKJV), a man brought his son, who was possessed by a mute spirit, to Jesus’ disciples for healing. The disciples were not able to cast the spirit out. So, Jesus told them to bring the boy to him. Jesus then rebuked the spirit commanding it to come out of the boy and never return. After this miracle, the disciples asked Jesus privately why they couldn’t cast the spirit out. Jesus then told them that “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Side note: it’s good to use more than one translation to study scripture. Some versions omit “and fasting.”

Sometimes, prayer is not enough, and you are called to up the ante and take it to the next level. Coupling prayer with fasting is an effective way to shift your priorities to the preferences of the spirit. 

Related: Modern-Day Idolatry: 10 Idols You May Be Placing Before God

Biblical vs. secular fasting

Fasting biblically is unlike secular fasting, which focuses primarily on your physical needs. Instead, spiritual fasting is an act of ultimate surrender that allows you to become receptive to the Lord’s plans.

Several Bible verses provide insight into Christian fasting. Here are some of my favorites:

1. How to fast

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. Matthew 6:16-18

2. Looking for guidance

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. Acts 14:22-23

3. Community fasting

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. Esther 4:16

4. As an act of worship

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Luke 2:37

5. Turning to God

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13

6. Confessing sin and praying for forgiveness

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. Daniel 9:3-5

7. For protection

There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. Ezra 8:21-23

8. Going beyond personal growth 

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Isaiah 58:3-5

In the end

There are several verses that provide biblical insight into fasting. Believers fast for many different reasons. Essentially it is a sacrifice that surrenders you to God’s will. What are some of your favorite scriptures on fasting? How do they encourage you to be open to the Lord?