The tool of fasting and prayer is one of the greatest tools we could ever use on our journey of drawing close to Jesus. However, have you been fasting with dread and burden — or with joy and expectation for reward?

The Scriptures contain many promises about how God will reward and bless you when you fast and pray with a right heart.

Therefore, I would like to encourage you today to build your faith for what He will do for you while you fast! To do this, it will help you to review certain Scripture passages about fasting. If you’re going to fast, you might as well harness all the power of God’s word in prayer that you can!

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So here are a few scriptures for you to grab hold of, in which God gives specific promises about our fasting:

Promise 1 is found in Matthew 6:16–18. This passage says:

Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:16-18 NKJV).

Christians often think that the reward of fasting comes only with the answered prayers we get while fasting.

However, Jesus goes beyond this with His promise in Matthew 6:16–18. In this powerful passage, He says that, if we fast rightly, as to the Lord and not unto men, our Father will reward us openly for the mere act of fasting.

It’s true: His reward is not limited to answered prayers. In addition to answering our prayers, He wants to reward us just for the sacrifice of seeking Him through fasting! Hallelujah! What mercy and goodness He shows to His children!

Promise passage No. 2 is found in Isaiah 58:6–12:

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?

“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

“Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

“Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In” (Isaiah 58:6–12 NKJV).

This scripture is one of the reasons it’s so important to serve others while you are fasting.

While we consecrate ourselves to Him in a season of fasting, God doesn’t want us to stare at our navel and think only of ourselves. No; He wants us to step out and exercise the heart of God in our own chest by manifesting our faith through works. He wants us:

• to care for the poor;
• to help people get delivered and free;
• to clothe the naked;
• and even to care for our own family members in need.

If you will do these things while you are fasting with a right heart, He calls your fast “the fast that I have chosen.” Remember also that Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NKJV)!

Side note: In my own personal life, I have seen that caring for the poor produces blessing in my own life every time.

That’s not why I want to care for the poor; we care for the poor because that’s the heart of Jesus. However, obeying this command — especially in conjunction with fasting — does seem to be an immediate roadway to an outpouring of blessing. Surely God meant it when He said, He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given (Proverbs 19:17 NKJV).

The third promise that gets results every time you fast is found in Joel chapter 2.

Joel 2:12–32 contains promise after promise about the things God will do for us, and for our nation, when we fast and pray. This entire passage is too long to quote here, but please be sure you read it right away!

As you read, take special notice of how many times the Lord references restoration and provision among the benefits of fasting:

• Anytime He mentions grain, harvests, threshing floors, wheat, vats, eating in plenty, et cetera, He is talking specifically about financial restoration.
• When He mentions new wine, He is talking about soul healing and restoration — the joy and healing of the Lord for you on the inside.
• And when He talks about oil, He is talking about the anointing of His Holy Spirit in you and on you for ministry to those around you. (Find a written prayer for more anointing here if you need one!)

ALL of these things need to be healed and restored in God’s people, and He will do every single one of them when you fast and pray with a right heart!

Friend, when you fast and pray, it’s important to come before the Lord with expectation.

His Scriptures are rich with promises about all He will do for you when you fast and pray His way. Look to Him today; consecrate yourself with a solemn fast; care for the poor and afflicted while you seek Him; and believe Him to reward you BIG!

Have you been believing God for too little while you fast and pray? Do these scriptures boost your faith today? Leave a comment below!

Why not share this with a friend and invite them to fast and pray for the nation this Friday with IFA? Our webcast guest will be Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

First Friday Prayer and Fasting Webcast/Call
August 4, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. ET
IFApray.org/watch or call 667-771-7909.

Jamie Rohrbaugh is the founder and CEO of From His Presence. She is the author of Victory In the Camp of the Lord Volume 1: Healing from Fear. Her resources have been published by YouVersion Bible Plans, Charisma Magazine, The Elijah List, Spirit Fuel, and various other ministry outlets. You can find free mentoring on her podcast, Take Your Territory with Jamie Rohrbaugh, which is available through your favorite podcast streaming app. Download her free prayer tool, Praying the Names of God: 555 Biblical Names of God and How to Use Them in Prayer and Worship, here.