What Does the Bible Say About Fasting?

What the Bible says

1. Scripture

   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. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.

   Ezra shows fasting as intentional abstinence joined to earnest seeking. The people afflict themselves before God not to impress a king, but to ask for a right way and to depend on God’s protection.

2. Scripture

   Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

   Joel ties fasting to wholehearted return. The call is not merely ritual mourning; God wants a torn heart—repentance and humility—not torn garments alone.

3. Scripture

   Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? 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?

   Isaiah confronts fasting that stays on the surface. Bowing the head and wearing sackcloth are empty if injustice continues. The fast God chooses is joined to righteousness, mercy, and freedom for the oppressed.

4. Scripture

   And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

   Jesus Himself fasted. New Testament practice does not invent fasting; it continues a pattern already present in Israel’s life with God, now centered in Christ’s own obedience.

5. Scripture

   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. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; 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.

   Jesus assumes His people will fast (“when ye fast”) and forbids using hunger as a performance. Biblical fasting is directed toward the Father in secret, not toward human applause.

6. Scripture

   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.

   The early church fasted with prayer when setting apart leaders. Fasting appears in ordinary New Testament life as dependence on God in significant spiritual decisions—not as a private superstition.

A grounded way to understand this

Taken together, these passages answer the question plainly. In the Bible, fasting is voluntarily setting food aside for a season so the heart can seek God with clearer attention. It belongs with prayer, repentance, and humility. It shows up in both Testaments: among returning exiles, among prophets calling for heart-deep turning, in Jesus’ own wilderness obedience, and in the church’s shared seeking of the Lord. Scripture is just as clear about what fasting is not. It is not a lever for controlling God’s answers. It is not a costume of sadness worn for an audience. And it is not a substitute for obedience. Isaiah’s warning still stands: an empty stomach cannot cover an unrepentant life. Jesus’ warning still stands: the Father sees the secret motive, not the public show. So a biblical view of fasting holds two truths at once. Food is a real gift, and setting it aside can be a real act of dependence. Yet the center is never the abstinence itself—it is God. If you want practical steps for beginning a fast with sincerity and wisdom, use the related guide on how to fast biblically rather than treating this overview as a full instruction manual.

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