35 Bible Verses About Fasting for Breakthrough

Your prayers feel like they’re hitting a ceiling, and the situation you’ve been praying about for months seems stuck in the same impossible place. You’ve tried every angle of intercession, claimed every promise you can find, and enlisted others to pray with you, yet a breakthrough still feels distant. The stronghold in your family, the financial crisis, the health diagnosis, or the spiritual battle seems impervious to normal prayer approaches.

Throughout Scripture, God’s people discovered that some breakthroughs require more than regular prayer and require the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting involves voluntarily abstaining from food (and sometimes other pleasures) for a specific period to focus intensely on seeking God’s face, breaking through spiritual barriers, and demonstrating the seriousness of our petition before Him.

If you’re considering fasting for a breakthrough, you’re following a biblical pattern established by Jesus himself and practiced by believers throughout history who understood that some victories require the kind of spiritual intensity that comes through denying the flesh to pursue God with single-minded focus. Fasting doesn’t manipulate God but positions our hearts to receive what He wants to give and breaks down spiritual obstacles that hinder His work in our lives.

Bible Verses About Fasting for Breakthrough

1. Matthew 17:21 – This Kind Does Not Go Out Except by Prayer and Fasting

However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

New King James Version (NKJV)

2. Joel 2:12 – Return to Me with All Your Heart, with Fasting and Weeping

“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

New International Version (NIV)

3. Isaiah 58:6 – Is Not This the Fast That I Choose?

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

English Standard Version (ESV)

4. 2 Chronicles 20:3 – Jehoshaphat Resolved to Inquire of the Lord, and He Proclaimed a Fast

Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.

New Living Translation (NLT)

5. Esther 4:16 – Go, Gather All the Jews and Fast for Me

“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my female servants will also fast in the same way. After that, I will go to the king even if it is against the law. If I perish, I perish.”

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

6. Daniel 10:3 – I Ate No Choice Food; No Meat or Wine Touched My Lips

I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7. 1 Samuel 7:6 – They Gathered Together to Mizpeh, and Drew Water, and Poured It Out Before the Lord, and Fasted

And they gathered together to Mizpeh, 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 children of Israel in Mizpeh.

King James Version (KJV)

8. Acts 13:2-3 – While They Were Worshiping the Lord and Fasting

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.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

9. Matthew 6:17-18 – But When You Fast, Put Oil on Your Head and Wash Your Face

“When you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

The Message (MSG)

10. Nehemiah 1:4 – When I Heard These Things, I Sat Down and Wept and Mourned and Fasted

Now it came about when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

11. Ezra 8:21 – There, by the Ahava Canal, I Proclaimed a Fast

I called for a fast there by the Ahava Canal, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

New English Translation (NET)

12. Luke 4:2 – Where for Forty Days He Was Tempted by the Devil

He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, He was hungry.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13. Acts 14:23 – Paul and Barnabas Appointed Elders for Them in Each Church

Paul and Barnabas chose some men to be elders in each church. The apostles prayed and went without eating for a while. Then they put these men in God’s care.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

14. Daniel 9:3 – So I Turned to the Lord God and Pleaded with Him in Prayer

So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

Good News Translation (GNT)

15. 1 Kings 21:27 – When Ahab Heard These Words, He Tore His Clothes

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put on rough cloth. He refused to eat, and he slept in the rough cloth to show how sad he was.

New Century Version (NCV)

16. Psalm 35:13 – Yet When They Were Ill, I Put on Sackcloth

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

International Standard Version (ISV)

17. Mark 9:29 – This Kind Can Come Out Only by Prayer

And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”

Tree of Life Version (TLV)

18. Judges 20:26 – Then All the Israelites, the Whole Army, Went Up to Bethel

Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before Yahweh and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahweh.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

19. 1 Corinthians 7:5 – Do Not Deprive Each Other Except Perhaps by Mutual Consent

Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

World English Bible (WEB)

20. 2 Samuel 12:16 – David, Therefore, Besought God for the Child

David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

American Standard Version (ASV)

21. Jonah 3:5 – The Ninevites Believed God. A Fast Was Proclaimed

And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

22. Matthew 4:2 – After Fasting Forty Days and Forty Nights, He Was Hungry

After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.

New American Bible (NAB)

23. Isaiah 58:8 – Then Your Light Will Break Forth Like the Dawn

Then shall thy light breake foorth as the morning, and thy health shall growe speedily: thy righteousnes shall goe before thee, and the glorie of the Lord shall embrace thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)

24. Luke 2:37 – She Never Left the Temple but Worshiped Night and Day

and she had been a widow for about fourscore and four years), which departed not from the temple, worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day.

English Revised Version (ERV)

25. Acts 27:9 – Since Much Time Had Been Lost and Sailing Had Already Become Dangerous

And much time being spent, and the sailing being now dangerous, because of the fast being already past, Paul was admonishing,

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

26. 1 Kings 19:8 – Strengthened by That Food, He Traveled Forty Days and Forty Nights

And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.

Darby Translation (DARBY)

27. Psalm 109:24 – My Knees Give Way from Fasting

My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness.

Weymouth New Testament (WNT)

28. Leviticus 16:29 – This Is to Be a Lasting Ordinance for You

And this schal be to you a lawful thing euerlastynge; in the seuenthe monethe, in the tenthe dai of the monethe, ye schulen turmente youre soulis, and ye schulen not do ony werk, nethir a man borun in the lond, nether a comelyng that is a pilgrim among you.

Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

29. Zechariah 8:19 – The Fasts of the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh and Tenth Months

Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, The fast of the fourth moneth, and the fast of the fift, and the fast of the seuenth, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Iudah ioy and gladnesse, and prosperous hie feastes: therefore loue the trueth and peace.

Geneva Bible (GNV)

30. 2 Chronicles 20:4 – Judah Came Together to Seek Help from the Lord

And Iuda came together to aske helpe of the Lorde: and out of all the cities of Iuda they came to seke the Lord.

Bishop’s Bible

31. Matthew 9:15 – How Can the Guests of the Bridegroom Mourn While He Is with Them?

And Iesus sayde vnto them: Can the chyldren of the brydechamber morne as longe as the brydegrome is with them? The tyme wyll come, when the brydegrome shalbe taken from them, and then shall they fast.

Tyndale Bible

32. Acts 9:9 – For Three Days He Was Blind

And for three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink anything.

The Living Bible (TLB)

33. Daniel 6:18 – Then the King Returned to His Palace and Spent the Night Without Eating

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. He couldn’t sleep and refused to be entertained.

The Passion Translation (TPT)

34. Matthew 15:32 – I Have Compassion for These People

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “My heart is moved with pity and sympathy for this crowd, because they have been with Me now three days and they have nothing [left] to eat; and I am not willing to send them away hungry, because they might faint on the road.”

The Voice Bible (VOICE)

35. Isaiah 58:3 – Why Have We Fasted, But You Have Not Seen?

They say, ‘We have gone without food to honor you. Why don’t you see us doing it? We have kept ourselves from eating. Why don’t you pay any attention to us?’

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)

Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Fasting for Breakthrough

Scripture reveals that fasting is a powerful spiritual discipline that can break through barriers that resist normal prayer and spiritual effort. The Bible shows fasting not as a way to manipulate God but as a means of spiritual intensification that demonstrates the seriousness of our petition while positioning our hearts to receive a breakthrough.

What strikes me most about biblical teaching on fasting is how it consistently produces results in impossible situations. When Jehoshaphat faced overwhelming armies, he proclaimed a fast, and God gave miraculous victory. When Esther needed a breakthrough for her people’s survival, she called for a three-day fast before approaching the king. When the early church needed direction for missions, they fasted and received clear guidance from the Holy Spirit.

The Bible also reveals that fasting accomplishes something spiritually that regular prayer alone sometimes cannot. Jesus indicated that certain kinds of spiritual strongholds require prayer and fasting to be broken. This suggests that fasting creates a level of spiritual authority and breakthrough power that exceeds normal spiritual disciplines. However, Scripture is clear that the heart attitude matters more than the external act; fasting must be motivated by a genuine seeking of God rather than religious show or spiritual manipulation.

Say This Prayer

Heavenly Father, I come to You with a situation that feels impossible and prayers that seem to be hitting a wall. I sense that You’re calling me to seek You through fasting, to demonstrate the seriousness of my petition and position my heart for the breakthrough I desperately need.

Help me to fast with pure motives, seeking Your face rather than just Your hand. Keep me from treating fasting as a way to manipulate You or earn breakthrough through my own efforts. Instead, let this fast be an expression of my complete dependence on You and my willingness to sacrifice comfort to pursue Your will.

During this time of fasting, heighten my spiritual sensitivity and break down barriers that may be hindering Your work in this situation. Whether the obstacles are in me, in others, or in the spiritual realm, I ask You to remove whatever is preventing Your perfect will from being accomplished.

Give me strength to complete this fast with joy rather than complaint, and wisdom to know how long You’re calling me to fast and what specific breakthrough You want to accomplish. Help me to combine fasting with intensive prayer, worship, and meditation on Your Word.

Let this fast result in genuine breakthrough that brings glory to Your name and demonstrates Your power to those who are watching. Whether You answer in the way I expect or in ways I haven’t considered, let Your will be done through this time of seeking You intensely.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.