Fasting
21-Day Fasting Basics
Here is my heart cry: please, keep your Daniel Fast about your faith and NOT about the food!
As you look around the Internet and on Amazon for books and information about the Daniel Fast, you will find that most of them focus onthe food! People are turning the Daniel Fast into a “Christian seasonal diet” and finding all kinds of ways to continue to feed the flesh while staying within the fasting restrictions.
The huge problem with that is when you focus your attention on the food and how to make meals so pleasurable, you miss out on the amazing gifts God wants to give you! Instead of making this powerful experience a time to strengthen your faith and draw nearer to God, you spend your time, energy, and money on finding ways to make meals that give your flesh what it wants.
In Hebrews 5, Paul teaches about this very kind of behavior among believers:
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14
Paul’s teaching about spiritual maturity! And as long as we stay immature, we stay weak and of little faith. We stay like baby Christians.
The Bible defines fasting as, “restricting food for a spiritual purpose.” Please read those words carefully and let them soak into your consciousness. Let the Spirit call you to this power spiritual discipline so God can reveal to you truths, insights, and blessings. And don’t sabotage yourself by making the Daniel Fast about the food rather than about faith!
The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, where some foods are eaten and others are restricted. So we do need to give some attention to what we eat. But keep your meals simple. Don’t spend so much time preparing what some call, “delicious and satisfying Daniel Fast meals.” Delicious to what? Satisfying to what? The flesh! And then you miss out on what the Spirit of God has for you.
Instead, focus on God and feed on His Word. Jesus teaches us, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4
As you prepare for your Daniel Fast, you have a choice to make. Will your fast be about food? Or will it be about faith? My sincere hope is that you will choose faith.
Know that your Father loves you so very deeply and has so much He wants to give you. Open your heart to Him during your fast. He will feed your better and with more satisfaction than any food can ever do.
Each year, members, friends and partners of Word Church International participate in a variation of the popular Daniel’s Fast. The basic guideline through our fast is “NO BREAD, NO MEATS, NO SWEETS.” Drink plenty of water and juice (100% natural, no concentrated or artificial flavors). Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains. Most importantly throughout the fast, pray continually!
When going on a Daniel fast, or any type of fast, if you have questions about eating certain types of food or what Scripture says, prayerfully seek the Lord and be led by the Spirit for the specifics for your personal fast.
Foods to avoid on the Daniel Fast
- All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.
- All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.
- All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, date honey, agave, stevia and cane juice.
- All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.
- All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.
- All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.
- All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.
- Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.
Remember, READ THE LABELS!
21-Day Fast Daily Scripture Reading
Praise
Day 1 – Psalm 145
Day 2 – Psalm 146
Day 3 – Psalm 147
Writing the Scripture
Day 4 – Deuteronomy 6
Day 5 – Deuteronomy 11
Day 6 – Deuteronomy 27
Reading the Scripture
Day 7 – Psalm 107
Day 8 – John 1
Day 9 – John 15
Prophesying What We Read and Wrote
Day 10 – Ezekiel 36
Day 11 – Ezekiel 37
Day 12 – Ezekiel 38
Doing What We Read and Wrote
Day 13 – Acts 1
Day 14 – Acts 2
Day 15 – Acts 3
Praise
Day 16 – Psalm 148
Day 17 – Psalm 149
Day 18 – Psalm 150
Listen
Day 19 – Proverbs 3
Day 20 – Proverbs 4
Day 21 – Proverbs 5
