What Is A Daniel Fast?

The concept of a Daniel Fast comes from Daniel 1:8-14:

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “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.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

The background of the Daniel fast is that Daniel and his three friends had been deported to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians had conquered Judah (2 Kings 24:13-14). Daniel and his three friends were put into the court service “training program.” Part of the program was learning Babylonian customs, beliefs, laws, and practices. The eating habits of the Babylonians were not in complete agreement with Mosaic law. As a result, Daniel asked if he and his three friends could be excused from eating the meat (which was probably sacrificed to Babylonian false gods and idols).

Further Scriptures on fasting:

1 Kings 21:9 “He wrote in the letters, saying,

Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people....”

Nehemiah 9:1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads.

Esther 4:3,16 And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.... “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”

Esther 9:31 ...to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting.

Psalm 35:13 But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. Psalm 109:24 My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.

Isaiah 58:3-6 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? “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?” Jeremiah 36:6-9 “You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the Lord’s house on the day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities. It may be that they will present their supplication before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For great is the anger and the fury that the Lord has pronounced against people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. Daniel 9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You. “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we

have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly! “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision: “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;

And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Joel 2:12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Matthew 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Matthew 6:16-18 “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Mark 2:18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” Matthew 9:15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Mark 9:29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Luke 2:37 ...and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Acts 14:23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

7 Steps for Observing a Daniel Fast

1. Be specific. Decide what sort of fast you are going to do, and for how long, and stick with it. 2. Fast as a spiritual commitment.

A Daniel fast requires a spiritual commitment to God. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.” Daniel 1:8 3. Reflect inner desire by external discipline. Many people have an inner desire for better health, but they can’t discipline themselves to avoid junk food, and other foods that are not good for health. The physical health you seek from God may be more than an answer to prayer. Your physical health may be linked to any of the following factors: a. Your food choices. b. The level of your spiritual commitment, as reflected in constant prayer during a fast. c. Your time commitment. If you determine to fast for a certain time, keep it. For example, if you determine to fast ten days, don’t stop on day nine. d. Your testimony commitment. Your fast is a statement of faith in God. You want God to heal your body. Faith is foundational to the Daniel Fast. 4. Pray to see if sin has a role in your health or sickness. Read James 5:13-20. • Actions and attitude are important. James said, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him

pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.” James 5:13 • The sick person must call for the elders. James 5:14 • Sin may be related to the cause of sickness. James 5:15 • Lack of healing or health may be the result of spiritual rebellion. James 5:15 • Lack of healing or health may be due to sin of wrong consumption, i.e. poor diet, drugs,

cigarettes, pornography, etc. • Repentance is linked to health. James 5:16 • Prayer alone may not gain healing; faith in God is the major factor. James 5:15,17-20 5. Fast as a statement of faith to others. Daniel was making a statement of faith when he asked for only vegetables to eat and water to drink, then dared the overseer to compare the appearance of the four sons of Israel with the young men who ate the king’s food. 6. Learn the effects of the food you eat. Why are some foods good for us, and others not? What do different foods do to your body? If we really knew, there would likely be some things we never eat again. 7. Yield all results to God

Remember...

• The Daniel Fast will lead to spiritual insight. “To those four young men, God gave knowledge.”

Daniel 1:17 • The Daniel Fast is longer than one day. These young men fasted for ten days. • The Daniel Fast is a partial fast. They ate, but only vegetables and water. • The Daniel Fast requires abstinence from sweets and junk foods, along with meat and dairy

products. For a modified Daniel Fast, you can include dairy products.

Along with the guidelines of food to enjoy, it is also that during the time of your Daniel Fast, you consider taking a vitamin supplement. And drink plenty of water. Recommended: 8 8-oz servings per day. If you have a medical condition for which you are being treated, please consult your physician before beginning the Daniel Fast.

During the time of your Daniel fast, it’s not all about the food. This fast is designed to bring us into surrender to the perfect will of our God for our individual lives as well as for our church. During the time of the fast, you should concentrate on seeking God and on taking out the trash. The Daniel Fast is not just some new twist on the subject of dieting.

Do A Spiritual Inventory During This Time

What movies or TV programs are you watching? How much time are you surfing the internet and what sort of sites are you visiting? What books are you reading? What is occupying your thoughts? Are you glorifying God in your mind, in your spirit, and in your body?

During your fast, you need to keep your priorities straight: #1 God. Prayer (fellowship with God) and bible study. #2 Family. #3 Church (fellowship with other Christians) and community.

What to eat... - Whole Grains (Includes whole wheat flour, oats, barley, brown rice, etc.) - Legumes (All natural beans, lentils, peas) - All Non-Processed Vegetables, Fruits & Berries - Seeds, Nuts & Sprouts - Natural Liquids (Water, 100% all natural fruit or vegetable juices) - Healthy Natural Oils (Olive, peanut, canola or safflower) - Natural Herbs/Seasonings/Spices - *Honey, Agave Nectar, Stevia, Maple Syrup - Soy-based Products - Baking Soda

What to avoid... - Meat - Dairy Products (unless you are doing a modified fast) - White Rice - Fried Foods - Carbonated Beverages - Foods/Drinks Containing Preservatives or Additives - Refined Sugar Products - Man-made Sugar Substitutes (Splenda, etc.) - White Flour Products - Margarine, Shortening, High-Fat Products - * Yeast Products - Baking Powder - * Fermented Products (Vinegar, Soy Sauce, etc.) - * Caffeine

*These foods may be enjoyed or avoided, depending on personal conviction/choice.

What kind of junk is in the trunk? Are any of these showing up in your life?

Envy Strife Anger Jealousy Lust Pride Hostility

If so, these are red flags to alert you that you are not allowing yourself to be filled with the Spirit of God.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

Let’s drop the junk. Don’t deceive yourself, but truly search yourself and ask the Holy Spirit for His assistance. Seek the fruit of the Spirit to be developed in your life.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6

As a result of dedicating themselves to the Lord and disciplining their flesh, this is what is recorded in Daniel 1:17: “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.”

And when we fast, we should keep in mind the Scripture in Isaiah 58:6-10:

“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 not to 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 your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul,

Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.”

So if we fast with faith and the right attitude, we can expect good things to happen spiritually and physically.

What I’m Expecting from God During This Time of Consecration

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