Beginning in January 2018, my Church has decided to focus on prayer.  We are using Mark Batterson’s, “The Circle Maker,” as a guide to start the year off in prayer.  As I was preparing this series, I decided to do a Daniel fast at the start of it.

For those of you who do not know what a Daniel fast is, it comes from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over (Daniel 10:2-3 NIV).

The requirements of the fast are that one cannot eat any meat, or any by-product from an animal (ex. eggs, cheese, milk, etc).  You can not consume any food with sugar, chemicals, yeast and processed items.  The food I can eat is anything that comes from the ground and is not processed.  The duration of the fast is 3 weeks (21 days).

Most people do a Daniel fast for its health benefits.  You can do a google search for the Daniel fast and most websites are dedicated to diet, detox, and healthy living.  But one of the things I rarely see is for prayer.

The purpose of fasting is to amplify one’s prayer life.  Daniel, in the midst of Babylonian captivity, used fasting to gain wisdom and insight into a revelation of a Great War (Daniel 10:1).  The purpose of my Daniel Fast is not for health benefits but for wisdom, insight, and direction as I lead the church in pastor into the new year.

So far, the fast has been good.  I ate a salad without dressing and had a three bean chili for dinner.  I’m scared and excited by what will be revealed by the Holy Spirit during the duration of this fast.

Continue to pray for me as I begin this journey in fasting and prayer.