Prayer for Fasting and Prayer
A prayer for fasting and prayer is a way of saying to God, "You matter more to me than this." When we set aside food or comfort to seek the Lord, we're not trying to twist His arm or earn His favor; we're clearing space, quieting the appetites that usually run the show, and turning our full attention toward Him. Fasting paired with prayer has marked God's people throughout Scripture as a season of consecration, humility, and serious seeking. It is where breakthrough is sought not through louder words but through emptier hands and a more focused heart.
The prayers below are for beginning and sustaining such a time: dedicating it to God, asking Him to be your true hunger, humbling yourself before Him, and trusting Him for the breakthrough only He can bring. However long your fast, let these words help you keep your eyes on the One you're seeking. Below you'll also find a fuller collection of Scriptures on fasting and prayer—the verses the church has returned to for centuries when setting apart time to seek God.
A Prayer to Begin a Fast
Father, I set this time apart for You. As I lay down food and comfort, I'm telling You that I want You more than I want my own fullness. Consecrate these hours and these days. Meet me here, and let everything I give up make more room for everything You are. Amen.
A Prayer for Focus on God
Lord, when hunger rises, turn it into a prayer. Let every pang remind me why I'm doing this and pull my attention back to You. Keep me from going through empty motions; I don't want a diet, I want You. Be the center of these days. Amen.
A Prayer for Humility
God, I come low before You, with no claim and no bargaining chip. I'm not fasting to be seen or to earn anything; I'm fasting because I need You. Strip away my pride and any hidden desire to impress, and let this be quiet, honest, and only for Your eyes. Amen.
A Prayer for Breakthrough
Lord, break through where I've been stuck and move where I cannot. Amen.
A Prayer to Begin a Time of Fasting
Lord, as I set apart this time of fasting and prayer, I turn my heart fully toward You. I lay down food and comfort not to earn Your favor, which I already have in Christ, but to quiet the noise and seek Your face with focused devotion. Let this hunger become a reminder, each time it stirs, to turn my thoughts back to You. Strip away the distractions that crowd You out of my ordinary days, and create space in me for Your voice. Humble my heart and purify my motives, that this would be worship and not performance. Meet me in the weakness of these hours, and let Your strength be made perfect there. Where I am seeking direction, give me clarity; where I am interceding for others, hear my cries on their behalf. Teach me to depend on You as my true source of life, for man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from Your mouth. Guard me, too, in body, and give me wisdom to fast in a way that honors my health and the limits You have given me. Let this season draw me into a deeper nearness with You that lasts long after it ends. Soften me, shape me, and renew my hunger for what truly satisfies. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Amen.
Seeking Him First
Father, in this fast I take to heart Your promise: 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well' (Matthew 6:33). I seek You above all else today. Amen.
Scripture to pray
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.— Joel 2:12
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?— Isaiah 58:6
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… 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.— Matthew 6:16-18
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.— Matthew 4:2
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. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.— Acts 13:2-3
So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.— Ezra 8:23
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.— Daniel 9:3
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.— Nehemiah 1:4
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.— Esther 4:16
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.— 2 Chronicles 20:3
Frequently asked questions
How do I begin a time of fasting and prayer?
Begin by deciding what and how long you'll fast, then dedicate the time to God in prayer before you start. Choose a realistic scope, whether one meal, a day, or longer, and plan to replace the time you'd normally spend eating with Scripture and prayer. Starting with a clear intention and a prayer of consecration keeps the focus on seeking God rather than just abstaining from food.
What is the purpose of fasting and prayer?
The purpose of fasting and prayer is to humble yourself and seek God with focused, undivided attention. By setting aside food or other comforts, you quiet competing appetites and express that He matters more than your physical needs. Throughout Scripture it accompanies repentance, consecration, and earnest seeking, drawing you nearer to God rather than manipulating Him.
What are the main Scriptures on fasting?
The main Scriptures on fasting sit in both Testaments. Jesus assumes His followers will fast (Matthew 6:16-18—'when ye fast,' not 'if') and fasts forty days Himself (Matthew 4:2). The early church fasts before major decisions (Acts 13:2-3). In the Old Testament, Ezra fasts to seek God's protection (Ezra 8:23), Daniel fasts in prayer over a burden (Daniel 9:3), Nehemiah fasts and prays after grievous news (Nehemiah 1:4), Esther calls a national fast before a dangerous request (Esther 4:16), and Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout Judah in a crisis (2 Chronicles 20:3). Joel 2:12 and Isaiah 58:6 shape the heart of it—return to God with all your heart, and let the fast loose the bands of wickedness.
What is the biblical purpose of a prayer fast?
In Scripture, a prayer fast is a way of turning the whole self toward God with an intensified focus. It usually accompanies one of four things: repentance (Joel 2:12), a heavy burden or grief (Nehemiah 1:4), a hard decision or mission (Acts 13:2-3), or urgent intercession (Esther 4:16, 2 Chronicles 20:3). Fasting doesn't earn God's answer; it clears the noise so we can hear Him and mean what we ask. Isaiah 58 warns against fasting as performance—God wants a fast that changes how we treat other people.
How do you write a prayer for fasting?
A good prayer for fasting names three things: the reason you're setting this time apart, the surrender behind it, and the request you're bringing to God. For example: 'Father, I set this meal aside to be with You. I lay down [name the thing—a decision, a grief, a sin, a burden]. Fill the hunger with Yourself, and let this time reshape my heart. I ask You for [the request], and I trust Your answer and Your timing. In Jesus' name, Amen.' Keep it honest and short—the fast, not the words, is the offering.