In the pursuit of spiritual growth and personal transformation, fasting has been recognized across cultures and religions as a powerful practice that leads to breakthroughs and deeper connection with the divine. Within various scriptures and sacred texts, fasting is not only endorsed but also exemplified as a means to achieve spiritual clarity, inner strength, and transformative breakthroughs.
Fasting Scriptures For Breakthrough
By exploring these fasting scriptures, we gain insights into the profound significance of fasting as a catalyst for spiritual enlightenment and personal breakthroughs.
Scriptures on Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough
1. 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.”
2. 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?”
3. Joel 2:12–13
“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.
4. 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.”
5. Matthew 17:21
“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
6. Zechariah 7:5–6
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?'”
7. Ezra 8:21–23
“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.'”
8. Psalm 35:13-14
“Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth and humbled myself with fasting. When my prayers returned to me unanswered, I went about mourning as though for my friend or brother. I bowed my head in grief as though weeping for my mother.”
9. 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.”
10. 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.”
Examples of Fasting Leading to Spiritual Breakthroughs
11. 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.”
12. 1 Samuel 7:6
“When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ Now Samuel was serving as leader of Israel at Mizpah.”
13. 2 Chronicles 20:3-4
“Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”
14. 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.”
15. 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.
16. Matthew 9:14-15
“Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?’ Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.'”
17. Acts 10:30
“Cornelius answered: ‘Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me…'”
18. 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.”
19. Matthew 4:2
“After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
20. Exodus 34:28
“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.”
Historical Examples of Fasting Leading to Spiritual Breakthroughs
21. Judges 20:26
“Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.”
22. Matthew 9:14
“Then John’s disciples came and asked him, ‘How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?'”
23. Acts 27:33-34
“Just before dawn, Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything.'”
24. Nehemiah 9:1
“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.”
25. 1 Kings 21:27
“When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.”
26. Matthew 6:17-18
“But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
27. Acts 13:2
“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.'”
28. Luke 18:12
“I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”
29. Matthew 4:1-2
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
30. Matthew 9:15
“And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.'”
How Fasting Facilitates Personal Transformation
31. Luke 5:35
“But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days.”
32. 1 Corinthians 7:5
“Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”
33. Matthew 4:4
“But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”‘”
34. Acts 14:23
“And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
35. Isaiah 58:8
“Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”
Insights from Sacred Scriptures on Fasting
36. Joel 2:12
“‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.'”
37. Psalm 69:10
“When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.”
38. 1 Samuel 7:6
“So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, ‘We have sinned against the Lord.’ And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.”
39. Matthew 17:21
“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
40. 2 Chronicles 20:3
“Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.”
Learnings from Fasting Scriptures for Breakthrough
41. Daniel 9:3
“Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.”
42. Nehemiah 1:4
“As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
43. Esther 4:16
“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
44. Acts 13:3
“Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”
45. Acts 10:30
“And Cornelius said, ‘Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing.'”
46. Matthew 17:20
“He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'”
47. 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.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”
48. Acts 14:23
“And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”
49. Matthew 6:16-18
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face.”
50. Luke 18:12
“I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the scriptures of diverse faiths echo a resounding endorsement of fasting as a pathway to spiritual breakthrough and renewal. Whether observed as a means of seeking divine guidance, demonstrating repentance, or cultivating deeper communion with the divine, fasting remains a time-honored practice that transcends cultural boundaries.
Through the lens of these scriptures, we are reminded of the transformative power of fasting—a timeless ritual that continues to inspire believers towards profound spiritual breakthroughs and a heightened awareness of the sacred within and around us. As we reflect on these teachings, may we find encouragement and wisdom to embark on our own journeys of fasting and spiritual discovery, seeking breakthroughs that elevate our souls and illuminate our paths.