Fasting Verses

2Chronicles 20

2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, [b] from the other side of the Sea. [c] It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him... 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's...Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "

Nehemiah 1:4-6

(1:4) When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for a number of days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. (1:5) I said, “LORD God of heaven, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commands,° (1:6) let Your eyes be open and Your ears be attentive to hear Your servant's prayer that I now pray to You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins° we have committed against You...”

Nehemiah 9:1-3 On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads. (9:2) Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers. (9:3) While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.

Esther 9:31 ...just as they had committed themselves and their descendants to the practices of fasting and lamentation.

Psalm 35:13 Yet when they were sick,

my clothing was sackcloth;

I humbled myself with fasting,

and my prayer was genuine.

Daniel (9:3) So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

(9:4) I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:

Ah, Lord — the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant with those who love Him and keep His commandments° - (9:5) we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from Your commandments and ordinances...

Joel

(2:12) Even now-

this is the LORD's declaration-

turn to Me with all your heart,°with fasting, weeping, and mourning.°

(2:13) Tear your hearts,

not just your clothes,

and return to the LORD your God.

For He is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger, rich in faithful love,

and He relents from sending disaster.°

(2:14) Who knows? He may turn and relent°

Matthew 6

(6:16) "Whenever you fast, don't be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive° so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They've got their reward! (6:17) But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, (6:18) so that you don't show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Mark 2

(2:18) Now John's disciples and the Pharisees° were fasting. People came and asked Him, "Why do John's disciples and the Pharisees' disciples fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

(2:19) Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests° cannot fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. (2:20) But the time will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. (2:21) No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, and a worse tear is made. (2:22) And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins.° But new wine is for fresh wineskins."

Acts 13 (13:2) As they were ministering to° the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work that I have called them to." (13:3) Then, after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them,° they sent them off.

Acts 14 (14:23) When they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Preaching Guidance

Preparation (study)—
The following are the steps to take in developing a lesson:
Read the passage and surrounding context in your favorite translation
If it is a letter, read the whole letter in one sitting because that is how letters are read
Read the passage and context in other good translations (NIV, HCSB, NASB, NRSV). Sometimes reading it only in one translation causes the reader to have a “unique” but not good interpretation that is cleared up by reading a couple of translations.
Make personal notes (as you read) where you see the author's themes and divisions of logic. This will help you get at the literary context.
After you do this consult outside sources (Bible dictionary, Greek Lexicon, good commentary) to get cultural, historical context. If you go straight to sources, it can be a form of laziness, not thinking for yourself, and it can hurt you when you don't really understand the passage well.
After all this write a paragraph that puts the principles into your own words.
All this work should take you a couple of hours, but it is necessary to interpret the Bible well, and it will actually save you time and make your preaching better in the long run

Developing an Introduction—
Catch the attention of the audience and draw them into the subject
The intro should also let the audience know why the subject is important
Clearly introduce the subject, which is where your title is introduced
This should be no more than 5 minutes, preferably less

Main Points—
This will be your longest section
The whole speech will go too long if your intro is more than 5 minutes because that will already put you in a rush to make the point clear
From your study of the subject, form logical divisions of the subject, which become your main points
You can use the divisions of the passage if it is a contextual sermon (For example, 1Corinthians 3 uses the divisions: plant, water, and God makes it grow).
Use an illustration at each main point to help the listener connect to each point
An illustration is not limited to one type: story personal experience, humorous story, analogy, poem, quote, parable, etc.
Give practicals at each main point
Some practicals to the Word Study, for example, are to read the Bible every day, make it your standard, start putting it into practice, use it to deal with sin, and tradition needs to be challenged with God's Word.
Use a few select questions throughout to help people think for themselves and relate it to their own lives

Conclusion—
Sum up your main points
Make the connection with the title in a succinct statement
Leave them on a good note