Is the Daniel Fast being hijacked?

I started teaching Christians about the Daniel Fast in 2007. If you’ve read my book, The Daniel Fast: feed your soul, strengthen your spirit and renew your body, then you know that this all came about when I received a word from the Lord to “write about the Daniel Fast.” And my greatest desire is to support and guide men, women and teens so they can have a successful fasting experience.

Since that time I have taught hundreds of thousands of people about the fast in one degree or another. And my team and I have responded to tens of thousands of men and women when they have questions about the Daniel Fast.

One thing I know for sure: the Daniel Fast is a powerful spiritual experience that truly can bring amazing revelations, blessings, intimacy with the Lord and much more to those who engage in the fast. Prayers are answered. Lives are touched. Addictions are broken. Bodies are healed. Relationships are strengthened. And God is glorified!

But lately, and this has all accelerated over the last six months are so, it seems like the true Daniel Fast is being hijacked and unknowing people suffer the consequences. Let me explain what I mean:

One of the most powerful lessons we can learn during the Daniel Fast is strengthening our faith muscles by putting our flesh in its proper place! What is that proper place? Submitted to the Spirit of God! The Bible teaches us this, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16. Also, we are called to this truth, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13.

During the Daniel Fast you will wrestle with the flesh. Your flesh will want certain foods that aren’t allowed on the fast. It will whine because it can’t have coffee, tea, soda or juice to drink. And every time you tell your flesh to “take the backseat, I am living according to the Spirit” we grow in our faith. Self-control is practiced. Walking according to the Spirit is experienced. Submission happens.

In our culture today almost everything around us encourages us to pander to the desires of the flesh. It’s an “if I want it, I buy it” mindset. Or an “if I want it, I eat it” way of living. Feed me. Make it delectable. Don’t make me wait. I want it now!

So what does this have to do with the Daniel Fast? And why do I wonder if it’s being hijacked?

In today’s Internet world and the easy and quick access to information, it only takes a computer and a few keystrokes to “publish information.” And with the introduction of self-published digital books including Kindle and Nook, it’s easy for anyone to present their offerings to the world for their consumption.

What am I seeing? A multitude of books and publications being presented about the Daniel Fast that overflow with errors, nurture the flesh, and guide people away from the amazing experiences they can have. It’s like thousands of men and women are walking on a path wanting a powerful spiritual experience using the Daniel Fast. They come to a table piled with books with enticing words and pictures of food! The covers and descriptions include messages like these:

• Daniel Fast Smoothies: Scrumptious and Nutritious Blend of Flavors That Make Up a Mouth Watering Array of Smoothie Beverages
• The Daniel Fast Made Delicious
• Daniel Fast Desserts: a Tempting Assortment of Dessert Meals that Will Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
• Daniel Fast Desserts: Over 20 Sweet Treat Recipes for Your Daniel Fast

And here’s one that lifted part of the title of my book to promote their offering: Daniel Fast Cookbook: Feed Your Soul and Strengthen Your Spirit with Over 30 Delicious Recipes.

The photo on this book cover includes eggs, cheese, ham, jam, raised breads, milk, juice, coffee and other foods not allowed on the Daniel Fast! Just one example if the Daniel Fast being hijacked!

So you choose one of the “Daniel Fast books” that feeds your flesh in a “tantalizing” and “scrumptious way” and you keep moving down the path. But here’s the problem, you unknowingly have taken a detour. This detour takes you on a path to satisfy your flesh. “Wow! I don’t have to give up sweet foods. I can make these yummy cookies.” “Oh, look here. I can have all these delectable dishes! I don’t have to deny myself at all. This is great!” And you keep moving along.

Meanwhile, you miss out on the treasure that you could have had if you would have had a true guidebook and entered this spiritual experience as it was originally intended: a powerful, consecrated time of extended prayer and fasting so you can draw closer to God, develop your faith, and learn how to walk according to the spirit rather than by the desires of the flesh.

I understand that the Daniel Fast, being a partial fast, presents some challenges about food. Is it okay to enjoy the foods you eat while on the fast? What about preparing meals for others?

And here is where you, as a follower of Jesus Christ and as a temple of the Holy Spirit, can exercise your discernment. Are you feeding your body? Or are you indulging your flesh? Are you staying within the boundaries of a spiritual experience? Or are you figuring out ways you can stay within the food guidelines but still meet the needs of the flesh by concocting “tantalizing” recipes?

There are times when there’s a fine line when it comes to eating some foods or making up some recipes while on the fast. But I also know that we have a Guide inside of us who will show us the direction that will best meet our desire for spiritual growth.

We have a choice when we enter into an extended period of prayer and fasting using the Daniel Fast. We can “seek first the kingdom of God” and consecrate ourselves for the time and gain in maturity and understanding. Or, we can continue to pander to the flesh and have a mediocre experience with some benefits . . . but still missing out on the supernatural blessings the Lord wants to deliver.

Paul says this, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal.” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

And here is even a stronger message from Paul: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” Romans 8:5-7

Like I mentioned, I have been teaching about the Daniel Fast for many years. The Lord has blessed me with the assignment. And I am humbled when I hear from men, women and teens that have been powerfully touched by the experiences they’ve had while in the Daniel Fast. I know the potential of this fast! I have heard and read the testimonies of thousands! And that’s why I am saddened to see what is happening.

My hope is that people on the path toward their fasting experience will allow the Lord, and not their flesh, to direct their steps. And that they will indeed be able to receive the amazing and powerful gifts, blessings, revelations, and answers to prayer that are available to them.

Okay . . . end of rant! But I do ask you that, as someone who has taken the time read this article, help me and others keep the Daniel Fast the powerful spiritual experience it can be. Let’s work together to keep the main thing the main thing . . . and that is submitting ourselves to God as we enter into a time of extended prayer and fasting and open our hearts to Him so we can be transformed into the people He calls us to be! The Daniel Fast is not about the food! It’s about entering into a spiritual experience that brings us closer to God and allows Him to shower us with the blessings and gifts He so wants us to have.  Please, help me to preserve the true purpose of this method of fasting!

Click here to receive Daniel Fast helps and tips.

Why No Herbal Tea or 100% Juice!

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive about the Daniel Fast concerns herbal tea. People have a hard time understanding why they can’t have it on the fast, especially if it’s caffeine-free and organic. The same question is asked about fruit and vegetable juice.

The answer is really quite simple and it’s found in Daniel 1:12 where the Prophet’s words are recorded:

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.”

This is the anchor text that says we drink only water on the Daniel Fast. Tea and juice aren’t off the list because they are bad for you. They are off the list because there is no room for juice or tea in “drink only water.”

I hope this helps solve some of the confusion as to why  no other beverages are allowed on the Daniel Fast. When you think “beverage” during the Daniel Fast, you think “water.”

Now, let’s move to a little bit of a complicated matter, and that has to do with “juiced fruit and vegetables” that are allowed on the Daniel Fast. The reason they are listed is because many people have meals of juiced produce. It’s not a beverage . . . it’s a meal. One woman wrote to me today and told me she uses juiced meals when she’s traveling and at work.  But she also accompanies the juiced meal with a beverage . . . which is filtered water. So if you are making meal replacements by juicing fruits and vegetables, then they would be acceptable. It’s a fine line. Juice as a beverage is not allowed . . . liquid meals like smoothies and other plant-based protein drinks are okay.

Water has many benefits . . . including thwarting hunger, helping with detox headaches and cleansing the body. The average adult should drink at least 1/2 gallon of filtered water every day. If this is a new practice for you, you will be very surprised by the benefits you experience.

Daniel Fast Guidelines

If you want a copy of the Daniel Fast Guidelines, just to go http://Daniel-Fast.com and you will receive a convenient brochure that you can use for meal planning, shopping and dining. The complimentary Daniel Fast Guidelines are in a PDF file that will be emailed directly to you.

Another good reason for no MSG on the Daniel Fast

I just read an article from Johns Hopkins University that cited a new study about MSG. You can find it at MSG STUDY. It’s worth reading, especially when you wonder why you feel so good while on the Daniel Fast.

The article is also very convincing as to why most men and women lose weight while on the Daniel Fast. Here’s an overview:

The study finds that MSG causes the human body to gain weight three times more than those who don’t use the chemical! Here’s an excerpt:

“The study focused on 750 Chinese men and women, ages 40-59, living in 3 rural villages in north and south China. Most of the study subjects prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods and roughly 82 percent used MSG. Those participants who used the highest amounts of MSG had nearly 3 times the incidence of overweight as those who did not use MSG, even when physical activity, total caloric intake, and other possible explanations for body mass differences were accounted for. The positive correlation between MSG and higher weight confirmed what animal studies have been suggesting for years.”

Most people think MSG (monsodium glutamate) is found only in prepared Chinese food or the food you get in Chinese restaurants. But the truth is that more and more food manufactures are adding MSG to their products because the chemical is a flavor enhancer.

Here is what is really amazing: in 1950 Americans consumed about 1 million pounds of MSG a year. Now that consumption has increased by 300 percent! That’s right, American consume more than 3 million pounds of MSG each year! And we wonder why we have a weight problem!

The best way to avoid MSG is to make you own meals from scratch. When that it’s possible, then – here we go again – READ THE LABEL on the foods you purchase to see what the ingredients include. One problem is that the law only requires ingredients to be listed if they represent a certain percent of all the ingredients. So if what seems like only a small amount of MSG is added, then it will not appear on the list.

I hope that most of those on the Daniel Fast are making most of your meals from fresh products and using packaged products that you can be sure don’t include chemicals. One thing I know is that many men and women continue to eat a more healthy diet with pure foods after they complete the fast because they realize good food is so good for them.

Please take a few minutes and read the article about THE MSG STUDY. You owe it to yourself and to your body!

Daniel Fast Recipes

The last several weeks have been wild! It’s all good! And I am thankful to be able to announce a brand new collection of Daniel Fast recipes. They are all new in the Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version II.

The Daniel Fast Cookbook - Version II

This cookbook is a great stand-alone, but also serves as an excellent companion to the Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version I or even Daniel’s Fast Cookbook. The Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version II is more than 100 pages and more recipes than you will need for the fast. It’s already sold 100s of copies to my great Daniel Fast friends who purchased eBooks from me before.

The Daniel Fast Cookbooks are filled with Daniel Fast recipes and you can visit the new website that I am working on:

www.Daniel-Fast.com

You can click on “Store” and purchase this new Daniel Fast Cookbook or The Daniel Fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.

Thanks in advance for supporting this lay ministry by purchasing the eBooks. My whole goal with this blog, the Daniel Fast website and the Daniel Fast Cookbooks is to support you and others as you enter into this powerful time of spiritual fasting!

A New Daniel Fast Website

Okay, after the last few weeks of designing and putting together a new Daniel Fast website, autoresponders and a new shopping cart . . . I think rocket science really is easier!

Please take a look a the ‘new Daniel Fast site that I am currently building. It will be one of the support sites where I can offer all kinds of tools and helps to support you in your Daniel Fast.

You can find the site here: www.Daniel-Fast.com

Please visit it periodically as it will be changing almost every day. The same is true of this Daniel Fast Blog. Now that we have entered 2009 you will find new content, thoughts and information every day.

God bless you and I hope the very best for you as you enter the 2009 Daniel Fast.

Oprah’s 21-Day Detox – Woman’s World Magazine

I just did a little grocery shopping and while at the check out stand I saw this weeks issue of Women’s World magazine (Marked August 25, 2008, but they always have them on the stands way before the marked date).

So, who was on the cover? Oprah Winfrey. And what what the headline? Lose 7 pounds a week on Oprah’s 21-Day Detox!

The truth is, this is the exact same eating plan as The Daniel Fast, however they might not be so strict about no sweeteners and no chemicals. I knew of this 21-Day Detox from when Oprah first introduced it several months ago on her program. She was interviewing the author of Quantum Wellness, Kath Freston, who promotes this eating plan.

The Women’s World Magazine article points out that those following Oprah’s 21-Day Detox lose about seven pounds each week and their health improves dramatically. Of course, we already knew that! The health benefits to the Daniel Fast are great!

The article includes five recipes, but clearly one needs more than that to follow the 21-Day Detox. Thankfully, for those of us on the Daniel Fast, the Daniel Fast Cookbook (an ebook available on this site) provided enough recipes and meal plans for at least 21 days of fasting.

I did notice that they use some foods that we would not have on the Daniel Fast, but that’s only because their plan allows for gluten-free bread and pastas. In the Daniel Fast, we are not allowed any leavening and we also don’t use any processed flours, but rather only whole grain flours.

Still, I thought it was interesting! The magazine will probabaly sell lots of copies with Oprah donning the front page. But waht some readers will think is a new and treny diet, we know is the way the prophet Daniel ate while he was fasting thousands of years ago!

Teens on the Daniel Fast

I receive many questions about getting family members on board for a Daniel Fast, and frequently parents ask about how to motivate their teens to enter into the discipline. So I wanted to share my thoughts about this topic, especially since fasting and the Daniel Fast are growing in popularity among followers of Christ around the world.

First, I encourage parents familiarize themselves with the fast and why it is such a powerful discipline. Also, learn of the health benefits of the Daniel Fast as well as the benefits to the spirit and soul.

Then, call a family meeting to introduce the Daniel Fast to the other family members. Explain that you (the parents) have chosen to enter into the spiritual experience and that your hope is that the whole family will engage in the fast. Explain what the fast is, perhaps reading Daniel 1 and Daniel 10 and showing them a print-out of the Daniel Fast Food List.

However, be quick to explain that you understand that as teens, their food needs are different since they are growing and physically more active. Suggest that they continue to eat chicken and less bread or other foods that would assure their success on the fast.

Ask them if this is something they would like to do and what modifications they think might be good. And tell them you want to help them be successful on their fast.

If your teen balks at the fast, ask him or her to consider it for a day or two before giving a final answer. If they don’t want to participate, then accept their decision and let it go. Tell them they can change their minds, or decide to fast from soda or candy or some other single food. But since this is a decision they need to make for themselves, let them decide.

Younger children should not be required to engage on a full Daniel Fast, however it would be okay to introduce your children to fasting by leading them into a fast from candy or sugary desserts.

Remember, a fast should never be harmful to ones body and should guide the believer into a deeper walk with Christ. Fasting is a discipline, but it is not legalistic. There is no power in foods eaten or restricted. The power is in putting your spirit in charge of your soul and your body . . . committing the fast and the time to the Lord and drawing closer to Him as you seek Him with your whole heart.

Parents, please offer your comments! Perhaps you have some ideas that can help others as they lead their family into the power and discipline of spiritual fasting.

Daniel Fast and chips – not a very good combination :-)

We all have foods that we miss a lot when we are in the Daniel Fast. Mine is coffee. Just about every thing else is tolerable. But I really miss coffee. But there is no getting around it, coffee and any kind of substitute is out on the Daniel Fast.

Others seem to miss chips the most. They serve as a great delivery system for both salsa and salt, so I understand the challenge. The good news is that it’s easier to find a suitable substitute for chips.

If you miss being able to “crunch” on something, then rice cakes are a great way to go. I use the ones made from brown rice and I keep them around all the time for snacks and a quick breakfast by adding peanut butter, raisins and nuts.

But if you need something for your salsa, consider cut or finely sliced vegetables including carrots, celery, jicama or lettuce leaves. Not exactly the same, but healthier and Daniel Fast friendly!

Search the health food stores for baked chips that might fit the demand. You’ll need to read the label and make sure the chips are not deep fried. Also, keep your eye out for any kind of leavening. I have learned that there are some flat breads being made now using a modified Ezekiel Bread ingredients.

Finally, you could always bite the bullet and just go without like I have to with the coffee! It’s a tough road, but I know you can make it! Just think of how good that first chip will taste when you’ve completed your successful fast!

Daniel Fast Blogger Update

For those of you on my email list, I am sorry for my recent absence! I’ve been pouring my time into some new efforts, including writing a Study Guide to one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read! I will be in touch with you about that in the next few days. I truly am amazed by what I have learned and the HUGE difference this understanding has made in my relationship with Christ. It is awesome!

I also want to tell you about a fasting book I read by a wonderful woman of God. Her name is Bishop CD Miller. Her book is called The Lord’s Fast and offers valuable lessons in going deep with the Lord when you fast. I encourage you to check it out.

God is so good! He is faithful! And the more we learn about living according to Kingdom principles, the more victory we will experience in our lives. From my own experience, the Daniel Fast has served as a significant spiritual discipline in my life to support me in my relationship with the Lord. I know many of you have had the same experience . . . it’s like having a blanket of security wrapped around me as I sanctify my body, soul and spirit unto the Lord.

Please drop me a line and let me know how you are doing! Also, let your friends know about this blog. Let’s get the word out about growing in the spirit. More and more people are turning to fasting as they seek a more intimate relationship with God. I can’t even number the many men and women who have stumbled upon this site and believe it to be a blessing from the Lord.

That is my hope and my call – to bless God by blessing His people.

Peace to you . . . be blessed as you continue to grow in the love and knowledge of Christ.

Daniel’s Fast Recipes – Here’s one more to add to your collection

I had guests the other day and made this Mango and Black Bean Salad. Even though I am not fasting right now, I realized this would be a great recipe while on the Daniel Fast. The recipe was on a can of Bush’s Best Black Beans.

Mango and Black Bean Salad

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups fresh mango, diced

1 cup sweet red bell pepper, diced

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 seeded Jalapeno pepper, minced (or hot sauce to taste)

Salt to taste

Combine ingredients in a bowl. Toss and serve.