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!

Fasting with a Purpose – The Daniel Fast

When you study the Scriptures, you’ll find that when people fasted it was for a purpose — not just a religious exercise. Daniel fasted from the king’s foods and wine because they had been offered to the Babylonian gods and he didn’t want to defile his body. He later prayed and fasted to “encourage” the prophesied release from captivity for the Israelites from Babylon. And in his third recorded fast, Daniel was seeking solace for the great pressure he felt because of a dream he had experienced.

 In the New Testament, people would fast when they needed guidance or answers to prayers. Many times, when the Scripture used the words “by prayer and supplication” it likely referred to fasting.

As you prepare for your Daniel Fast, what will be your purpose? Are their special needs in your family? Is there a loved one who has not accepted Christ? Do you have financial pressures? Is there illness that needs healing? Do you need a new job or help with your business?

Take some time and write down your needs and your purpose for fasting. These will be your subjects of prayer and Bible study. Amazing things happen during times of prayer and fasting! Seek the Lord. He is our Holy God! The Almighty. And nothing is impossible for Him. Call on the Name of the Lord! Prayer opens the doors of our lives so the Lord can perform His works! Ask. Seek. Knock.

Fast with a purpose! And see what the Lord will do!

Plan a Meal Preparation Day While on the Daniel Fast

Meal preparation will take more time on the Daniel Fast since most of the foods will be homemade. A practice I do throughout the year and works well during the Daniel Fast is to establish a day when I prepare several meals for the coming week.

Saturday works best for me. I plan my menus and grocery shopping list at the same time. Then after my shopping is complete, I come home and wash and trim all my fresh vegetables. I slice and dice and store vegetables to be used later in the week for lunches and salads. I make double batches of soups, stews and casseroles. And I try to prepare the time consuming recipes that I would otherwise not have time to make on busier weekdays.

While preparing the meals I listen to uplifting music or by audio Bible. It’s a very fun, creative and energizing time. The time I invest on this meal preparation day pays major dividends later in the week when I can prepare a salad in less than five minutes and when I have lunches already portioned out in individual servings that can just be popped in a bag to be eaten later at the office or at school.

This is also a nice time to involve the family as they can help to make meals, visit the cook, or pack lunches! If you have never done this, you will be surprised at how much time and money you will save!

21-Day Daniel Fast

Well, we are drawing closer to New Year’s Day, which will mark the beginning of the 21-Day Daniel Fast for many. Others will start their 21-Day Fast on the first Sunday or Monday of the year. Still others will commit to a shorter period of spiritual fasting, but still give a “first fruits offering” of themselves to the Lord by beginning the New Year with prayer and fasting.

The 21-Day Fast is the most popular, primarily because that is the model set out by Daniel in Chapter 10:2, 3 – “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”

I hope you will find all the information you need on this site to be successful on your fast. One thing I want to advise: be prepared! First, have the right kinds of foods in the house that you can eat for the Daniel Fast. See the Daniel Fast Food List. Also, plan your menus and prepare the foods so they are available to you. See the Daniel Fast Cookbook, plus there are many recipes on this site that you can make ahead.

Second, you might want to get rid of or at least put away foods that are tempting. Kind of like the biblical accounts of Jewish women as they prepared for the Passover by cleaning their houses from top to bottom and removed all yeast from their homes. Many Jews engage in this same practice today when they prepare for the Passover.

Third, plan time to prepare meals as they will likely take a little longer than when you are not fasting. Most of the mels you prepare will be from scratch since there are so few prepared products that don’t have chemicals in them. So you will want to set aside enough time to prepare your meals, not only for those you will have at home, but also those you will have at work or when you are traveling.

Of course, you also want to prepare your heart for the 21-Day Fast. Seek the Lord’s guidance as you get ready to start the fast. Are there issues in your life that you need to address? Are their needs in your family or ministry that can use special attention? Are you seeking healing? Do you feel oppressed by financial bandages? These last few days of the year are an excellent time to search your heart, open yourself to the Lord, and allow Him to lead you into you personal 21-Day Fast. See The Daniel Fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.

Continue to visit The Daniel Fast Blog as I add content every day. Also, if you have questions, please leave a comment and I try to respond within a couple hours — many times immediately.

God bless you and I hope the very best for you as you set aside this time to give the first of yourself to Almighty God. Remember, He rewards those who diligently seek Him. So keep your mind on Christ and your focus on righteousness.

2008 Daniel Fast for Body, Soul and Spirit — $4.95

The 2008 Daniel Fast for Body, Soul and Spirit – $4.95

Available now for immediate download

This 54-page Daniel Fast eBook was written especially for Christian men and women who want meaning and depth to their Fast by prayerful preparation and daily journaling. The eBook includes:

• Daniel Fast Guidelines
• Daniel Fast Food Lists
• Meal Planning Forms
• Daniel Fast Recipes and Menus (updated with the weekly Daniel Fast Newsletter).
• How to Prepare your Spirit
• How to Prepare Your Soul
• How to Prepare You Body
• Journal pages to capture your reflections and insights
• Food log to track your food and water intake
• Fasting tips
• Prayers and Meditations
• Meditations and valuable insights to assure your success for the Daniel Fast.
• Plus, a free subscription to the Daniel Fast Newsletter so you can learn of miracles, answered prayer, fasting tips, recipes, and other interesting information about the Daniel Fast

And more valuable information that will assure your success for the Daniel Fast. Included with the purchase of The 2008 Daniel Fast for Body, Soul and Spirit is ongoing email follow-ups with recipes, fasting tips, prayers, news about miracles and answered prayer and other Daniel Fast Resources.

Perhaps one of the best benefits of this eBook is that you will learn ways to walk in the spirit and separate from the flesh, just like the Scriptures call us to do. This eBook will help you focus and bring meaning and depth to your fasting experience.

The 2008 Daniel Fast for Body, Soul and Spirit is now available in the eBook form for the low cost of just $4.95

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!