“Sometimes you are so hungry that the only way to get fed is to fast.”
That was the thought going through my head yesterday when I sensed the Lord calling me to start a new Daniel Fast for a period of study, prayer and intense focusing on Him. I am so hungry for more of my Father and less of me! I asked the Lord to help me, and those are the word I heard in my spirit, “Sometimes you are so hungry, the only way you can get fed is to fast.”
So I finished the cup of coffee I had already started, took a deep breath and declared that I was entering into a new Daniel Fast. I will fast for at least 21 days, but then see how things are going and I may extend one week at a time until I sense that it’s time to end.
I also wrote in my journal about what I was seeking for this Daniel Fast with spurts of conversations with the Lord. That’s how He and I communicate in our morning time together. I talk, He talks. I write and well, He’s already written His Word, so I read what He’s written. It’s a great time of fellowship that I cherish.
At the end of this time, I realized that this is to be a consecrated time of centering myself on Him and His ways. A time to shed and forego a few activities so that I can focus on some projects He’s call me to complete. This is also a time when I will form some new habits so I can grow spiritually, so I can renew my mind to the Truth of God’s Word, and so I can move toward better health and vitality.
Finally, this is a time when I am to step up to what God has for me. Even at my “seasoned age,” I still wrestle with self-esteem issues and the shadows of hurtful events in my past. However, I hear the Lord calling me to follow Him to the truth of who I am in Him and to put away how the enemy tried to shape me to be.
I am moving forward with the Lord and to the Lord and His amazing way of living. It’s a kingdom of God living, not that I have to wait for when I depart this world. But rather, the kingdom of God living that He spoke of in His Word.
I’ll keep you posted about my journey on this fast, hopefully to encourage you on your walk of faith. You can find those updates on www.Daniel-Fast.com.
I can say, even as I write this post just 24 hours into my Summer ‘09 Daniel Fast, I am charged with a new energy and hope. Our God is so good and He wants us to rely on Him in every way. The more we turn to Him the more He can minister to us. What a great blessing!
Be blessed!
Susan Gregory
The Daniel Fast Blogger
www.Daniel-Fast.com
cindy said,
July 29, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Dear Susan,
I will be praying for you to experience God in a new, refreshed and even deeper way, as you partake of this most recent/latest Daniel Fast. It is amazing to me that you have begun this within the same time frame that I myself am now looking (and praying about) to consecrate myself on deeper levels with the Lord… specifically through my lifestyle, eating habits and regular practice of spiritual fasting. As of June 30, 2009, I completed what I call, “the year of the fast”- a time of continual Daniel Fasting alternating with liquid fasting that I began in May, 2008. It was an incredible, awful, horrible, wonderful year-long journey with Jesus, (and fasting) that I still have not quite figured out all the spiritual lessons I may have learned along the way.
Nevertheless, I learned alot about fasting from you and this website and was encouraged today to read this particular post and see that you are still challenged to go deeper with the Lord. ( in your own journey with fasting) So, I will keep lifting you up in prayer and will be anxious to see what else you learn from the Lord over the next 21 days…or however long God calls you to fast. May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you in a mighty, mighty way as you move forward in faith. In Christ alone, Cindy
Susan Gregory said,
July 30, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Dearest Cindy,
Thank you so much for sharing your insight and experience. And also for your support and prayers.
Our God is so good and the more we trust in Him the more He can do through us, with us, in us, and for us. As you know, a deep relationship with God has endless rewards, but it’s not for the faint of heat. It takes diligence and consistency.
But even though the road is narrow, it’s the only road I want to be on. I could never turn back or even detour. I know too much of the goodness of God to change now!
Be blessed, Cindy, and thanks for your post!
Miriam said,
August 25, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Dear Susan,
May God continue to order your steps!
Susan Gregory said,
September 1, 2009 at 7:59 am
Thank you, dear sister in Christ.
Sheila said,
August 27, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Hello Susan!
It’s been several months since I’ve heard from you, but it is certainly good to know that all is well and that you are continuing to fast! My husband, my three children and myself went on the fast (they did a week) and it was a tremendous blessing to our family! We grew spiritually as individuals as well as lost a few pounds! My children were real troopers especially being used to having ANY foods that they wanted! So I as a mom was blessed at their obedience especially when those hunger pangs started! LOL! My husband was also a trooper because we had never successfully fasted together as a couple and he’s diabetic! I am currently desiring to have an even deeper fellowship with the Lord than I had when I was fasting before. What an awesome and cleansing experience. I am scheduled to have a medical procedure to determine whether or not I have cancer. I am confident that whether I do have it or not, I am in a win-win situation! I have Christ living within! And I look forward to living for ever with HIM! In the meantime while I am yet alive, Im Iooking forward to going back and even changing our eating patterns toward this Daniel Fast! Thank you for providing this site Susan and for being an encouragement to my family and I! God Bless! Sheila
Susan Gregory said,
September 1, 2009 at 7:40 am
Hello dear Sheila,
Thank you so much for your post! You and your family certainly discovered some of the amazing benefits of the Daniel Fast. I am thrilled to find that more and more followers of Christ are learning of this powerful spiritual discipline.
You are in my prayers regarding your health. My prayer is that you will grow in your identity as a child of the Most High God. Claim His promises as they for you! Your Father wants you healthy and Christ gained our divine health at the cross!
Be blessed!