Tomorrow kicks off our church‘s Daniel Fast. We’ve tried, as a church, to seek the Lord together through prayer and fasting by way of the Daniel Fast now for 3-4 years. So, we’ve selected these last 21 days of January to seek the Lord together through prayer and fasting.
The big idea is just to draw near to our Lord, to grow closer to Him, to discipline our selves for spiritual growth. Spiritual discipline is essential for spiritual growth! I have always loved practicing the disciplines in my own life. I can remember back even as a young man, even as a pre-teen, doing what I could do to draw near. If the spiritual disciplines are new to you, then I suggest some reading…maybe Whitney’s, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”, or Foster’s, “Celebration of the Disciplines“.
So, what is the Daniel Fast? That is a big question! I won’t answer it fully here in this post, but I encourage you to do some searching online. Simply, just google Daniel Fast, and you will get many results that provide a wealth of information. The simple idea is taken from the book of Daniel, the prophet in the Bible. It is found here in this citation from the Scriptures: parenthesis mine
Daniel 10:2-3
2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning (fasting) for three whole weeks.
3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. -NLT
Other translations use the word “savory” for rich. So, the idea is basically, a fruit and vegetables fast, no meat, alcohol, or other “savory/rich” delights! 🙂
I am not a legalist, so I have told our church to pray and ask the Lord how He would lead them to fast. I suggested other things than food, like, fasting from social media, TV, Internet, or certain foods like sugar & sweets. Truthfully, the sky is the limit. If one is to follow the Daniel Fast to the “T”, then they will only eat bland foods, primarily fruits and veggies. Otherwise, they can just fast from things.
We don’t need to get caught up in the details and mechanics of it so much that we forget its purpose. We are trying by Ascetism to draw near to our Lord and Savior. We desire to fulfill 1 Timothy 4:7 in the Bible, which says, “discipline yourself for godliness”. When someone is fasting from food, the idea is clear, you will get hungry or have cravings…so, instead of satisfying those cravings, go to the Lord in prayer and read scripture…seek Him for the needs in your life. When someone is fasting from things, the idea is when you would normally spend that time doing that thing, replace it with prayer and scripture reading, drawing near to God.
I am praying for all of us as a church to experience the mighty hand of the Lord in each of our lives over these next 21 days!!
blessings…
Mike
P.S.- almost forgot…I recommend keeping a journal during this time of seeking the Lord so, find a notebook or go to the store and get something to write down what God says to you and how God reveals Himself to you. 🙂
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