40-Day Corporate Prayer and Fasting

Scriptures to Read During Corporate Prayer and Fasting:

“We feed our spirits and starve our flesh by practicing habits laid down by Jesus. As we do this over time, we not only grow our own willpower muscles, but more importantly, we open our minds and bodies to a power that is beyond us—that of God’s Spirit.”

– John Mark Comer

1. Prayer and Fasting in the Presence of the Lord - "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the [a]Ten Commandments” Exodus 34:27-28 (KNJV).  

2. Fasting and Prayer for Protection - “ Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions. For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”  So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer ” Ezra 8:21-23 (NKJV).

3. Prayer and Fasting with a Humble Heart - “  But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife [a]stirred him up. And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house”  1 Kings 21:25-29 (NKJV). 

4. Prayer and Fasting on the Behalf of Others - “ For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him”  Esther 4:14-17(NKJV).

5. Prayer and Fasting to Loose the Bonds of Wickedness - "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 [b]cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”  Isaiah 58:6-7 (NKJV).

6. Fasting to Be Seen Only by God - “ Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the [a]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 [b]openly” Matthew 6:16-18 (NKJV).

7. Pray and Fast to Strengthen the New Converts - “ And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. And after they had passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. Now when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia”  Acts 14:21-25 (NKJV).

   Both the Old Testament and New Testament teach the value of fasting, which is abstaining from food or drink in order to focus on prayer and seeking God's will. Fasting is mentioned over 70 times throughout Scripture. In the Old Testament, there were two types of fasting: public and private. Both types offer great spiritual benefits. Through many examples of people in the Bible who fasted, we can know that God grants supernatural revelation and wisdom through this practice. Moses, Daniel, and even Jesus fasted! Scripture tells us that fasting will help us grow a more intimate relationship with Christ and will open our eyes to what He wants to teach us.