Daniel Fast – does it change God or change you?

I am now entering into my fourth year of teaching people about the Daniel Fast, a method of spiritual fasting practiced by millions of people throughout the world. Over the years, I’ve answered literally thousands of questions about the Daniel Fast and God has blessed me to make friends with men and women from more countries than I can count.

One thing I’ve noticed is that many people have a serious misunderstanding as to why they fast. And the greatest misunderstanding is that God will think of them as “better Christians” or accept them more readily if they complete a successful Daniel Fast.

But here’s the truth . . . you will not change God’s mind about you through prayer and fasting. The only thing that changes God’s mind about you – or I should say the only thing that will change your position with God – is Jesus Christ.  Because you believe in Christ and abide in Him and His word . . . that’s what makes you acceptable to God. Jesus makes you righteous and able to enter into the presence of the Holiest of Holy. The sacrificial blood of the Jesus did all the work that you will ever need to be acceptable to God.

Another misunderstanding about fasting is that we can change God’s mind by praying harder or more diligently when we fast – as if we need to counsel God so He can make the right decision about a matter.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God greatly desires His will be to “on earth as it is in heaven.” He wants the very best for you and everyone in your family. He wants you healed. He wants you free of worry and stress over money matters. He wants you to have loving and healthy relationships. His Word is full of what He wants – His will for you and for me and for all of humankind.

We don’t need to convince God or inform Him or guide Him. Instead, it’s the other way around. God is eager to shower you with love, healing, peace and goodness. He is good! He is love.

So what are the spiritual laws that God designed so that His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven?

It’s prayer. Prayers from God’s people serve as a conduit to release His will from the spiritual realm into the earth realm. Prayer is the essential element.

One of my favorite Bible teachers likens this spiritual law to a power plant. The power plant is there and eager to release its power to whatever needs it. So let’s say you have a light bulb that you want to use to manifest light. The power plant is where it is ready to release electrical power. The light bulb is with you ready to receive the electricity. But there is a missing part . . . the conduit – the wires. Once the right wires are in place the power plant can release the power – and the light bulb can receive it.

The same is with our amazing Father. He is in heaven full of power, love, mercy and grace. His will is to have His power released in the earth to relieve burdens, bring order to chaos, heal the brokenhearted, remove disease and so much more. But before His power can be released there needs to be the conduit – men and women declaring His will through their prayers. Intercessors are required to stand in the gap for those who can’t pray for themselves. Prayer warriors must voice the will of God for the needs in our world.

Prayer taps into the power plant – the almighty God in heaven – and allows Him to release His power and His ways into the earth realm – His will on earth as it is in heaven.

So prayer and fasting is a period of time where God’s children can separate themselves from their typical activities and focus on God and pray that His will be released in the earth. Jesus says in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Notice all the elements? Prayers to heaven – the need on earth – the release of God’s power.

Enter a time of prayer and fasting using the Daniel Fast as your method of fasting . . . study God’s Word to learn His will for a situation . . . and then use your consecrated period of time to pray His will into the circumstances! He already knows everything you need. He’s the almighty God. He doesn’t need us to inform Him or convince Him or move Him.

Instead, God needs you! He needs you to pray . . . and sometimes prayer needs to be intense and focused . . . and that’s when it’s time for a fast! Fasting was designed by God to help us change what we’re doing in our typical days so we can pray that His will be done – on earth as it is in heaven.

Be blessed on your fast.

The Daniel Fast in the Bible

The Daniel Fast is based on the fasting experiences of the prophet Daniel from the Old Testament in the Bible. It’s a partial fast where a group of foods are restricted for a spiritual purpose.

The Daniel Fast affords people a powerful time to focus special attention toward their God and His Word – the Holy Bible.

Since 2007, this blog has served thousands of men, women and teens who enter the Daniel Fast to draw closer to God, pray for specific purposes or to study the Bible and learn God’s ways.

My prayer is that you will spend some time on the blog and also visit http://Daniel-Fast.com and learn about the fast. You will find a caring and warm community here – and you can join our mailing list by going to http://Daniel-Fast.com to receive complimentary information about the fast, Bible study messages and devotions.

Be blessed as you continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Daniel Fast and Study the Word of God

If you’ve been wondering where this gal has been for the last while . . . well the mystery is over! I’ve been glued to my keyboard writing another book that I hope will be a great help and gift to you! The eBook is called Study the Word of God to Change Your Life and it’s available for immediate download. I wrote it because I truly believe God is calling to His chosen people (that’s you and me . . . anyone who is born-again) to step up to a new level in faith!

Study the Bible to Change Your Life

I also know that faith and knowledge in God’s Word go hand in hand. More knowledge . . . more faith. Do you want more faith? Then increase your knowledge in God’s Word! Studying the Word of God to Change Your Life is also a great tool to use during your Daniel Fast! Remember, the Daniel Fast is about a lot more than restricting food. It’s about entering a period of time with intense focus on God and His Ways. Where do you learn about Him and the way He wants us to live a powerful and fruitful life? In His Word.

Since teaching about the Daniel Fast, I’ve heard from thousands of men and women who are seeking a deeper and more powerful relationship with God. I know what that hunger is about. I’ve been there, too. But I also know the amazing benefits of getting into God’s Word and having it feed my spirit to such a degree that I literally have to shout!

That’s the kind of faith our Father wants us to have. He also wants us to know Him and who we are as His children. So He gave us His Word. He wants us to live a powerful and amazing life so that people will see us and want what we have. That’s being a powerful example of Christ in our lives . . .

I hope you will look into this new eBook. It’s getting great reports from all who have seen it. I am delighted that God led me to create this book. Writing it was a powerful experience as I too focused more on the amazing power we have accessible to us . . . and it’s all in His Word! A treasure chest of love, grace, mercy, hope, faith and power!

Jesus washed their feet . . .

This morning in my quiet time with the Lord, Jesus gave me a special experience through His Word. I want to share it with you. I encourage you to receive the gift for yourself, as it’s free, gentle and totally available.

I was sitting up, but stretched out on the couch in my living room. My feet were up and I was comfortable and relaxed. Almost every day (except when on the Daniel Fast) I have “coffee with Jesus.” It’s a cherished time and so often I want it to extend far beyond the one or two hours I set aside for the meeting. This was such a morning.

I started reading John 13. This is the account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet on that final Passover night in the upper room. As I read the first few verses of the chapter, I tried to enter into the experience. I tried to picture the upper room and the disciples and see and feel Jesus in this scene:

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Jesus knew what was coming . . . He knew that in just a few hours He would be beaten beyond recognition. He knew He would lay His body on the cross and have spikes hammered into His hands and feet. He knew what awaited Him.

I tried to imagine, as much as I could, how He would feel. I winced just thinking about all the pain and torment that Christ would endure.

In the midst of all this knowledge, after supper Jesus slowly and purposefully prepared Himself and washed the disciples’ feet, a lowly task and exercise commonly relegated to servants.

Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

Oh my, there is so much deep truth in Christ’s words. Unless we can truly receive Christ and be washed by Him . . . we can’t understand, receive or enter into His Way, His Truth and His Life.

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

Again, Jesus knew, at least in part, what was to come in the next hours. He felt the heartache of betrayal. He felt the dishonor. He felt the emotional pain of having someone He had befriended and cared for . . . who was now about to turn against Him and make way for the ensuing steps.

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

I pictured the disciples. They probably thought this was a special night. After all, it was the Passover Supper, one of the most important remembrances in their Jewish tradition.  My guess is that they thought tomorrow would be like many others they had experienced as they listened intently to Jesus. He was teaching them another valuable lesson.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the scene . . . it was powerful as I thought of Christ’s loving expression toward these men even though His heart must have been very heavy.

So I sat on the couch for a few more minutes, and then I swung my legs around to get up. That was when my spirit heard the Lord saying to me, “Now let Me wash your feet.”

Even as I write these words to you, my breath is taken away. I sat and imagined Jesus washing my feet. Tears streamed down my face and my heart burst with overwhelming humility, love, thanksgiving and more emotions than words can even describe.

I sat in this position for a while, not wanting to miss any of what the Lord wanted to show me and teach me. I imagined Jesus kneeling in front of me, lovingly washing my feet. I was quiet and tried to take it all in.

That’s when I heard the words, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash the feet of others. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

I realized, as those words coursed through my understanding that I could harbor no unforgiveness, frustration, or other negative attitudes toward another. Jesus had washed my feet. How could I not humble myself and repeat the act toward others.

This experience was a life-changing gift from the Lord. The lesson is not over, yet. I know my spirit will draw from this scene during those situations when my flesh flares up. The great thing is that when that happens, I can go back to the moment when Jesus said to me, “Now let me wash your feet.” I know all pride, bitterness, hurt and resentment will once again be washed away. There is no way I can have my feet washed by the Savior and then not wash the feet of anyone He sends my way.

I encourage you to put yourself in a quiet place. Begin reading John 13:1-15. Put yourself in the midst of the scene . . . and then allow the Lord to wash your feet.

The rest of this passage is this: “Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Jesus says that we will be blessed if we do those things we know to be true in Him. This is the good life in Christ. The sweet life of walking in the Spirit. It is ours to have . . . but we must first humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, learn from our Teacher, and then do what He calls us to do.

Be blessed, dear friend in Christ! Sip from the cup the Lord serves you. It is sweet, wholesome and life-giving.

The Daniel Fast is ALWAYS a Spiritual Fast!

Okay, I might get some raised eyebrows on this post! But I’m just trying to bring some clarity about the Daniel Fast. And by the way, it’s a Daniel FAST and not a Daniel DIET!

Why am I making such a distinction? The reality is that the Daniel Fast is much more than the types of food consumed. If you are looking for the Daniel Diet then click on the food list and call it a “twist” on a vegan diet.

Entering the Daniel Fast without a spiritual purpose is like going golfing without clubs. You may have had a great time walking around the course and even yelling, “Fore!” But the reality is that you really weren’t golfing. You were doing something else . . . which is fine, but it wasn’t golfing.

You see, the Daniel Fast originated with the prophet Daniel! And the reason Daniel fasted was because of his devotion to God. The devotion came before the dietary restrictions, not the other way around.

Daniel records three times when he fasted, but he most likely did so more often. The first fast was recorded in Daniel 1. The food and wine the king wanted Daniel to eat had been offered to idols. However, he had already consecrated (set apart) his life to God. If he ate or drank of these things, he would defile his body. So that’s why Daniel requested that he eat only vegetables (which actually included fruit) and drink only water.

Chapter 9 has the second recorded time of Daniel fasting and when he was deeply distraught over the nation of Israel being in exile. Jeremiah had already prophesied that Israel would be set free after 70 years of captivity. The time had come and so Daniel prayed and fasted. This time, it was probably what is called a “normal fast,” which is water only.

Chapter 10 has the third recorded time of Daniel fasting. He was concerned about a powerful dream he had received. The Scripture says he mourned for three weeks and ate no delicacies and no meat and drank no wine. This three week fast is the hub of the current day’s form of fasting commonly known as the Daniel Fast.

You can see that in all three instances, Daniel fasted for spiritual reasons. Once to stay pure before the Lord and two times to seek the Lord’s wisdom, direction and answers to prayer.

Daniel didn’t fast because he was overweight or needed a health tune-up. He fasted because of God in his life.

Now, please don’t get me wrong. I am all for healthy eating and losing weight and even the wonderful health benefits of the Daniel Fast. But to call eating the way Daniel did a “fast” without a primary motivation to draw closer to God just isn’t accurate. Biblical fasting was always about restricting food and always for the purpose of drawing closer to the Lord, observing spiritual laws, or seeking God in prayer.

So if you really want to use Daniel as the model, I hope you will do it all the way. Seeking and finding God is the most significant benefit of the Daniel Fast. Improving ones health is a great side benefit!

Lessons from Daniel for the Daniel Fast

As I study more about the Daniel Fast, I obviously learn more about Daniel the prophet. And I find that the more I look into this man’s character, the more my excitement about starting the Daniel Fast grows. Let me explain:

Daniel had a foundation — GOD! Everything he did was a response to his devotion and commitment to God. God wasn’t an occasional thought for Daniel, but rather everything Daniel did was for the God he worshiped and lived for – even when he found himself and his people (the Jews) under the rule of Babylonian kings.

Daniel’s commitment reminds me of Smith Wigglesworth, perhaps the best-known “faith healer” of this century. He had a saying, “I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe.” Wigglesworth believed Jesus was the Healer! And the result was thousands of healings when Wigglesworth ministered to people, including 13 documented cases of people being raised from the dead.

Wigglesworth and Daniel had the same foundation – God. Everything else came after.

In Matthew 6:33, we read as Jesus instructs us to, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then these things shall be added unto you.” Jesus is telling us to keep God first! Keep His right ways of doing things at the forefront of everything we do. THEN we will have all we need.

God instructed Joshua in the same way. When Joshua had the grave task of taking over where Moses left off, he was worried about his ability to lead the Israelites into the promised land. But God comforted Joshua and assured him that He would always be with him. The Lord gives Joshua clear instructions, including, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”  Joshua 1:8

First things first! It was the way of Daniel and Joshua. It was the way of Jesus and His disciples. It was the way of Smith Wigglesworth and others in our times. It can also be my way and your way . . . and entering the Daniel Fast is a great time to commit our lives to the only God and to turn our hearts to Him.

Prayer and Fasting

I just finished a long response to one of the visitors to The Daniel Fast weblog. I wanted to pass it on, because others may have similar questions about prayer and fasting — and fear and unbelief.

Hi Justin, Thanks for your question. Before I answer, please understand that I am not a pastor, physician, or theologian. I am a “sold out for Jesus” Christian and in that position give my thoughts about your question

I think the best thing we can do above everything is seek God. I mean really go after Him. I hope you are spending time in His Word each and every day. You know the saying, “There’s power in the Word?” Well, it’s true. There is supernatural power in the Word of God but the only way you can access that power is by spending time reading, praying the Scriptures, and studying.

I encourage you to create a “Secret Place,” where you meet with the Lord every day. Read Psalm 91 and claim every verse that is in it. Pray through it and ask the Lord to meet you and minister to you. I promise you, He longs for a deep and loving relationship with you.

The writer of Hebrews explains in detail about Jesus being our High Priest. That means He is a minister to us and for us. The High Priest’s whole purpose is to be for the people He serves. Jesus wants you whole and completely well.

Now here is the sticking point. Throughout the New Testament, we learn that if we are to receive the abundant blessings the Lord has for us that we need only to believe. We need to totally trust our lives into the hands of God and believe that He will do everything He says in His Word. If you are like most Christians today (and like I was not too long ago) you have a lot of doubt in your heart. Doubt and fear cancel out faith and hope.

So what is the solution? You need to “grow your faith.” And how do you do that? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Spend time with God and His Word. Take EVERYTHING to Him in prayer, including any doubt and unbelief you may have.

Entering the Daniel Fast “as unto the Lord” is a perfect way for you to devote yourself to the Father. Keep Him at the forefront of your mind and in all you do. Tell Jesus you want to know Him as Lord and Healer. Don’t feel self-centered about wanting to be healed. Jesus wants you healed. The truth is, He already healed you on the cross . . . just as He provided everlasting life to anyone who will receive Him when He died once for all . . . He also provided healing. “By His stripes we WERE healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 Again, it goes back to trust.

I received the Lord’s healing after suffering for many years with a chronic disease. It was not an instantaneous healing, but rather one that took place gradually. Why gradual? For me it was because my belief grew gradually. I am now completely healed!

One more thing that might help you as you work through to your healing: read Matthew 17:14-21.

“And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” 
 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”  So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

When Jesus talks about “this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting,” most people think He is referring to the demons in the boy the disciples were praying for. But if you examine the context carefully and compare it to other passages about this same situation along with the whole of Scripture, you will see that Jesus was talking about unbelief. Prayer and fasting is the antidote for doubt and unbelief. So study this scripture, then get a mustard seed . . . you might have some in your spice cabinet. If not, invest a few dollars (spiritual learning aid) and buy a bottle at the store. Jesus says that even with faith the size of a mustard seed . . . that we can move mountains! My guess is that you have faith the size of a mustard seed – but the unbelief is canceling it out.

So, back to the beginning . . . this is a perfect time for you to enter the Daniel Fast.

I hope this helps and please feel free to contact me again. I love talking about the Lord!

Get Ready for the Daniel Fast

Preparing for the Daniel Fast is important. Of course, you will want to get all the menus planned, the recipes gathered, and the food purchased. There is more about those matters in other posts you can find in this weblog (see the category list).

But on this post I want to focus on preparing spiritually for the Daniel Fast. God’s Word actually has some very important teachings about fasting and how to make it one that is pleasing to the Lord.

Fasting is FOR the Lord! Isaiah 58 is one of the chapters in the Bible you will want to read as you plan your fast. Here the Lord addresses the very important issue of priorities in fasting. He responds to the religious people who fast and then ask of the Lord, “Why have we fasted and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and you take no notice?”

The Lord admonishes the people because He could see the motive of their fast. They were not fasting for Him . . . but instead for themselves or to impress others who might see them. The people may have been fasting by not eating food – but they were leaving God and His desires for their lives out of it.  He said, “Behold, on the day you fast, you seek your own pleasures.” In other words, they were centering the fast on themselves! Theirs was a self-centered fast, rather than a God-centered fast.

So He asks the people, “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 to not share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from hour own flesh?” Isaiah 58:6, 7

Now was God saying that we are not to fast, but rather address our attention to the poor and oppressed? No. Instead He was admonishing these people because while they were focusing all their attention on the religious act of fasting, they were missing the heart of God. Their lives were not pleasing to Him and so there was no way He could “notice” their fast.

The Lord goes on to tell the people what He will do for them if they align their hearts to His heart, “Then your light will break forth like the dawn,  and your healing will quickly appear;  then your righteousness will go before you,  and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,  with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”

As you prayerfully consider your fast, think about what will be pleasing to the Lord. Keep at the forefront of your thoughts that fasting is “unto the Lord.” He sees your heart (your motives) and He wants you to enter into this fast to seek Him, to honor Him, and to draw closer to Him.

Jesus also spoke of self-centered fasting in Matthew 6:16-18: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Soon you will begin your fast. Take some time and meet with the Lord. Ask Him about the fast. Firstly, does He want you to fast now? Listen with your heart and you will hear what He would have you do.

If you are to fast at this time, then ask the Lord to show you His purpose for you during the fast. Are there issues that trouble you? Does the Lord want you to trust Him more? Is their a cause for which He is calling you to pray?

Get ready for the fast by seeking the Lord. Make this fast unto the Lord. Then He will reward you and you will discover the power and purpose of spiritual fasting!

The Daniel Fast for Your Spirit, Soul and Body

The Daniel Fast brings health to every part of you! You are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. And the Daniel Fast is an excellent tool to bring increase and goodness to all of who you are!

There is a lot of confusion about the makeup of our beings. Yet once understood, one is amazed at the clarity in the Scriptures and the ease it brings to living!

Your spirit is the inner-most part of you. It is the God-centered essence where Christ abides. Jesus addressed the two parts of us in John3:5-7, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.'” Your mother didn’t give birth to your spirit and your father didn’t provide the sperm (seed) for your spirit. Only God can give birth to your spirit.

The soul (also called the flesh) is the non-material part of you that was born from your mother and of the seed from your father. Your soul is the seat of our conscience, emotions, intellect and will. Your soul cannot perceive truths from the Spirit of God. Your soul can be transformed to the degree that you renew your mind, change your attitudes, and conform to the Word of God. This should happen, and it’s in the process of happening, but it didn’t happen automatically when you accepted the truth of Christ into your life.

The body is easy to understand. You can see it! It is the physical place where our spirit and soul live.

The Daniel Fast is experienced by all three parts of us and brings health to those parts. As a spiritual exercise, we turn our attention to spiritual truths. In doing so, our spirits become stronger. In Matthew 4:3-4 we read about Jesus being tempted by Satan, “The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Our spirits are fed from the Word of God. So during the Daniel Fast, many will give extra food to their spirits by increasing the time and attention they give to God’s Word.

Meanwhile, it is the soul that will bring up the fight during the Fast. You will experience this fight when you have to make a choice to push through the hunger pangs and the cravings. Or when you want to have “just one little bite of that bread,” even though it’s against the fasting guidelines  . . . after-all, no one is looking!

The choice to push through and “quiet the soul” is your spirit taking precedence over your soul — or another way of saying it is “living a spirit-led life.” One of the primary benefits of the Fast is that your soul gets “put in its place,” which is under the control of your spirit. What controls your spirit? God and His Word!

Finally, the body. It will do some kicking and screaming, at first. The body will want the usual amount of food . . . and when it doesn’t get it, it will send out hunger pangs to the brain (the soul receives those messages). When your body doesn’t get the caffeine it has come so used  to, it might send out an alert by way of a headache!

But soon, the body too will come into line and benefit from the goodness of the foods in the Daniel Fast. In fact, you might even get some rebellion from our body after the fast when you introduce foods that it’s kind of liked doing without!

During the Fast your body will begin working more efficiently as it receives foods more easily digested, lots of refreshing water, and no artificial chemicals!

So the Daniel Fast is a whole-body-experience! It brings health and strength to the spirit, it brings health and control to the soul, and it brings health and good foods to the body!

What is the Daniel Fast?

The Daniel Fast is named after the prophet whose name also titles the Old Testament’s Book of Daniel. His name means “God Is My Judge,” which he upheld with his unshakable consecration to Yahweh and his loyalty to God’s chosen people.

He was deported from Jerusalem as a teenager in 605 B.C. to Babylon where he lived for more than sixty years. This deportation was prophesied by Isaiah, “And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

So Daniel was among those sons . . . initially serving as a trainee in Nebuchadnezzar’s court and later was an adviser to foreign kings. The expansion of the Babylonian Empire required many skilled and educated workmen. Much of this manpower was found through the slaves. Because of their wisdom, knowledge, and handsome appearance, four young Hebrews were selected for the training program. The outstanding character of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah locked in their positions in the king’s palace. It was Daniel that rose to the top and excelled all the wise men of the vast empire.

In Daniel 1:1-21, we find the model for the Daniel Fast. The four young men were to become servants of the king. Nebuchadnezzar instructed the master of the eunuchs to feed them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank. Most people would want to eat “like a king,” but Daniel had a higher calling. He did not want to defile himself with these foods that were not consistent with the Jewish dietary laws.

Daniel requested a plain diet from the chief of the eunuchs. The chief  was very concerned that granting Daniel the plain foods would leave him weak and emaciated. And then the king would behead the chief for not obeying his command.

Daniel negotiated with the chief, asking for a trial period, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.”

At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three other companions looked better and fatter in flesh than all the other young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies.

So Daniel and his friends were allowed to remain on their diet. God rewarded the young men with knowledge and skill . . . and the king found them to be ten times better in wisdom and understanding than all his magicians and astrologers.

So the Daniel fast is limiting ones diet to vegetables and water, and at the same time increasing time in the Word of God and prayer. This is not a fast to lose weight, although that certainly will happen. And it’s not a diet to improve your health, yet you will likely feel better than you have felt for some time. Instead, the Daniel Fast is a time to consecrate yourself unto the Lord in a desire to draw closer to Him.