Power Fasting: Fasting and Scripture

We fast from food in order to feed our souls on the word of God.

Dallas Willard, whose teaching on discipleship is influencing all the leading discipleship ministries today, often spoke about the day that as a young man he abstained from food in order to read the Gospel of John throughout the day. Dallas repeatedly said and wrote that that day changed his life – that he was never the same again. His soul was changed as he fed deeply on the words that came from the mouth of the Lord.

In the book of Ezra we watch a man fast from food and give himself to teaching the Israelites who had returned from the exile and were re-establishing their community in Jerusalem.

But the primary example in Scripture is, of course, Jesus when he was tempted in the desert. The fact that he answered two of the three temptations with quotations from the book of Deuteronomy demonstrates at the very least he was very familiar with that book while it is also likely that he had a copy of the scroll of Deuteronomy with him in the desert.

Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.’ John 6:35

Later he added; ‘The words I have spoken to you – they are full of the Spirit and life.’ John 6:61

The word of God creates, it overrules, it overcomes, it has an inner dynamic and life of its own.

All who feed on it are changed by it.

My own testimony is that my involvement with the word of God through Bible for Life over these past fifteen years has changed me far, far more than I ever expected.

‘… man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ Deuteronomy 8:3