20 Powerful Bible Verses to Help You Pray, Fast, and Give This Lent

Need a little encouragement to make the most out of Lent? Scripture gives us exactly what we need to stay focused, inspired, and faithful during this sacred season. Whether you're committing to prayer, fasting, or acts of charity, God's Word is a source of strength and renewal.

Below are 20 powerful Bible verses to guide your heart through Lent. Let them remind you of God’s mercy, call you to deeper conversion, and encourage you to persevere on your journey toward Easter.

Repentance & Turning Back to God

1. "Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." – Joel 2:12
   
   
2. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." – Psalm 51:10
   
   
3. "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out." – Acts 3:19
   
   
4. "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." – Ezekiel 36:26
   
   
5. "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Fasting & Sacrifice

6. "And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men... But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret." – Matthew 6:16-18
   
   
7. "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?" – Isaiah 58:6
   
   
8. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." – 1 Corinthians 10:31
   
   
9. "I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." – Romans 12:1
   
   
10. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." – Matthew 4:4

Prayer & Seeking God

11. "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart." – Jeremiah 29:13
    
    
12. "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
    
    
13. "Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." – Philippians 4:6
    
    
14. "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." – James 4:8
    
    
15. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." – Matthew 26:41

Almsgiving & Loving Others

16. "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." – Proverbs 19:17
    
    
17. "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." – Matthew 25:40
    
    
18. "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." – Luke 6:38
    
    
19. "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." – Hebrews 13:16
    
    
20. "And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart." – Galatians 6:9

How to Use These Verses During Lent

Take a few minutes each day to meditate on one or more of these verses. Allow God’s Word to speak to your heart and lead you into deeper reflection. Consider journaling about what each verse teaches you and how you can live it out in your daily life.

This Lent, let Scripture be a light to guide you through prayer, fasting, and acts of service. Let it inspire your journey of transformation.