THE DANIEL FAST SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE

FAST WITH A PURPOSE

Before you begin, decide on the purpose of your fast. Otherwise, without a purpose, you will be merely dieting. So prayerfully consider the focus of your fast.

For example, what is your greatest need at this time in your life? Do you want to learn to trust God in a deeper and more consistent manner? Could your marriage be stronger? Do you have financial pressures? Do you have family members who don’t yet know the Lord or have walked away from the Christian life?

Invest some quality prayer time and decide on a purpose for your fast. Then make a plan for your prayer and study time. Gather books and study materials to help feed your spirit and guide your quiet time.

Most men and women on the Daniel Fast find it helpful to journal during their consecrated time of prayer and fasting. Write expecting the Holy Spirit to partner with you as you seek a greater level of intimacy with your Father.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE DANIEL FAST

You will experience a more successful fast if you spend some time preparing for your time of focused prayer and fasting.

Quiet Time: If you don’t already have an established daily quiet time with the Lord, then this is an excellent opportunity to do so. As my Ellensburg Foursquare Church Pastor David Saltzman says, “I’ve found it best to start my day with the Lord. So every day I wake up, brush my teeth and then I meet with God.”

Starting your day with the God is a habit that will support your faith and growing intimacy with the Lord. During your Daniel Fast, be sure to set a daily time to come before the Lord, to study His Word and His ways.

Prepare Your Body: It’s a wise move to prepare your body for the fast by easing off sugar, caffeine and chemicals before your first day of fasting. Otherwise, you may experience physical detox symptoms of headaches, cramping and fatigue. Start to drink at least 1/2 gallon of filtered water each day.

HOW TO CONCLUDE YOUR DANIEL FAST

Just as you prepared to start your Daniel Fast, you will want to plan for the conclusion of your fast.

Changing the way you eat: If you have been on an extended fast of 10 or more days, your physical body has enjoyed healthy and easily digestible foods. Most people realize increased energy and better health during their fast.

Reintroduce caffeine, sugar, dairy products, deep fried foods and meat slowly to keep your body from rebelling and bring you discomfort. Small portions are better and adding no more than one type of food each day will give your body a chance to get used to the change.

Keep the gems of the fast: Most likely, you have gained many powerful lessons about your health and spiritual life. Carry these positive changes into your everyday life. If you have created a habit of meeting with the Lord each morning, then continue that practice.

If you have gained understanding about healthy eating habits or broken addictions to specific foods, then continue with those good practices.

Let the lessons you learned during your Daniel Fast continue to bring more health to your body, soul and spirit all year long.

FASTING IS ALWAYS ABOUT FOOD

You’ve probably heard people make a statement like this, “I’m not going to fast food, I’m going to fast television instead.”

The truth is that fasting is always about restricting food for a spiritual purpose. The Hebrew word for fast means “to cover the mouth.” And the Greek word for fast means “to abstain from food.” So fasting is always about restricting food and you cannot realize the supernatural benefits of fasting without restricting food.

Think about going to golf club and walking all 18 holes of the course, but you never hit a ball. Did you golf? No, you had a nice walk, but you were not golfing. Similarly, you can abstain from television, computer games or some other activity, but you were not fasting.

If you want to fulfill the ways of our faith by prayer and fasting, then you will need to restrict food from your body. Abstaining from other habits may be a good thing to do, but fasting is always about food.