Daniel Fast 2018 And 2019

Loving

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

By chance, is anyone doing the Daniel Fast this year? My church is having 21 days of prayer and fasting starting January 7th and I feel led to do the Daniel Fast this year. It will be my first time fasting for so long as well as doing the Daniel Fast. I started this thread to see if anyone else here is doing this. We could encourage each other :)
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
My husband and I are doing the fast this year. We will start on Sunday which I believe is the 7th as well.

I’ve already started cutting back on sweets and caffeine. I’m prayerfully going to try to keep it simple.
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
This is my third year the last two years I tried 40 days and couldn’t make it.

Last year our fast was right up until Easter and I learned not to go so long or so late. This year I’m so excited as I believe I can finally get the fast right!

No distractions.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
@Lymegreen What were your pitfalls? My biggest concern is the no sugar restriction. Sugar is in everything we consume these days....
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
@Loving Pitfall? Hmm I think #1 would be trying to substitute foods I like. This time there will be no subbing.

#2 cravings. Which of course is different from hunger. It’s amazing how strongly our body try’s to get what it wants.

Sugar- caffeine will be hard but I’m using this week to taper down in an attempt to curve cravings.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
I'm all set for tomorrow. I decided to do a test run today. Let's just say this will take some getting used to...

I'm committed to this though and I'm excited for the great things God is going to do in me as well as the answers I will receive to my prayers.
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
Aw, I have to drop out before it even starts. I searched deep and I’m not sure I can make it My husband will do it though and I prepare is meals.

So, I’ll be reminded of my failure but, I’ll be looking for another time this year (probably 2 weeks) to due the fast.

I just feel so burdened with my current responsibilities and feel I may crack? Not sure if this the right time as my mind is already being tried. ?
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Aw, I have to drop out before it even starts. I searched deep and I’m not sure I can make it My husband will do it though and I prepare is meals.

So, I’ll be reminded of my failure but, I’ll be looking for another time this year (probably 2 weeks) to due the fast.

I just feel so burdened with my current responsibilities and feel I may crack? Not sure if this the right time as my mind is already being tried. ?
I don't know what's going on but this maybe the best time for you to fast. Perhaps you could try for a shorter length of time instead of 21 days? I pray you will find peace with your decision.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
I have the feeling that I am being called to fast. I am not quite sure when or how, though. My sister did a 5 day Daniel Fast this week.
That may be the Lord guiding you to fast. For me, I wanted something deeper this year and I felt the Lord leading me to do more than my regular one day or two day total fast. The Daniel Fast came to mind and I decided to research it. The more I read, the more scared I became but I sensed it was exactly what I needed. I need to feed my faith and not my flesh. So here I am attempting to do a 21 day Daniel fast for the first time. With God's help I will make it and I'm sure you will too (whatever you decide to do).
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
I made oatmeal for husband this morning. He’s a stickler and last night I realized that we (him and I) have a different approach with the foods we would eat.
I would put cinnamon and nuts and call it done, while he refused the nuts or fruit.

I think of the fast as restricting foods as a way to get closer to The spirit of God. But, he seems to feel that he should add a suffering element.

I think my timing needs to be a little different from his because I refuse to make food (or lack there of) the center of my fast.
 

Lymegreen

Well-Known Member
I lan to check in though because I want to support you in this. I was planning to put 2-3 things up before him and set aside time to study the Bible and set aside time to talk and pray.

I’d like to learn of the power of your fast as motivation.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
I made oatmeal for husband this morning. He’s a stickler and last night I realized that we (him and I) have a different approach with the foods we would eat.
I would put cinnamon and nuts and call it done, while he refused the nuts or fruit.

I think of the fast as restricting foods as a way to get closer to The spirit of God. But, he seems to feel that he should add a suffering element.

I think my timing needs to be a little different from his because I refuse to make food (or lack there of) the center of my fast.
He's really strict with it. Wow.

I understand where you are coming from. It's easy to obsess over the food aspect and neglect the spiritual aspect of the fast. If you see that the spiritual would suffer because of the physical, I can see why you'd rather do it another time.
 

alex114

Well-Known Member
I think once things are less in flux for me (between interviews and travel and conference planning at my law school, this is a time of great movement), I'll receive a clearer answer @Loving
Can you tell me more about your experience with the Daniel Fast so far? How is it going in terms of your ability to live as you usually do?
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
@alex114 today is my first day so it's too early to tell. It's been good so far though. I grocery shopped during the week and meal prepped yesterday. I made a batch of curried beans as well as some baked oatmeal (no sugar, unsweetened almond milk). Today I made some red bean stew and brown rice. I should therefore have enough meals to last me until Thursday at least.

I tend to binge watch Netflix and as such I have decided to give that up during these 21 days as well. I will use the time to feed my spirit by studying the Bible as well as reading faith based literature.

I will have more to say about my experience later this week as I juggle work and home demands as well as the gym. I will use this thread to post about my experience so that others can be helped as well.
 

alex114

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much for doing this, you're already helping us!
That all sounds delicious! Also, please do let us know which faith-based books catch your eye. I would like to start reading more modern, substantive Christian literature. @Loving
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Right now I'm reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Someone in this forum mentioned it last week (I don't remember the poster's name) but it's very good so far. It's about praying about your biggest dreams and greatest fears.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Day 1 Recap
It went better than I expected. My first meal was at around 1.30 (had baked oatmeal with 1/2 banana). I then had some pineapple chunks around 4 and then had my dinner at 6.30 (red bean stew and brown rice). Aunt Flow came yesterday so I went to bed pretty early but did some reading before doing so. I woke up around 2.30a.m. and prayed for a bit then went back to sleep. On to Day 2!
 

Aggie

Well-Known Member
Nice thread @Loving. I want to do this as well but only for 10 days starting on Thursday January 18th through the 27th, so I can finish when you all are finishing. I have so many massage clients before this and will need the energy for them.

I will cut off doing any client massage for these 10 days of course. Lord help me commit to this commitment. I need to make myself accountable, hence the reason for marking my spot here now. This is so timely because I was actually thinking about doing 10 days of this fast this month.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Day 2 Recap
Spiritual - I had to dig deep yesterday. I was moody and cranky. I believe it was due to a combination of Aunt Flo plus the spiritual aspect of the flesh dying. I got up early and had my devotions and fed my spirit by listening to worship music (I normally do that) but also listened to a few youtube videos on the benefits of fasting. I watched one by Myles Munroe which he recorded back in 2012 I believe. At the time of the recording, he and his wife were doing a 21 day total fast - meaning no food , just water and herbal tea. He said that fasting helped him to be spiritually effective. He also noted that he needed to fast because when he sat down with the government leaders who were seeking advice from him, he needed to give them solid, godly advice. Here is the link for those who are interested

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Physical - my taste buds haven't yet gotten accustomed to no sugar. As a result, I hardly ate my baked oatmeal yesterday. I was therefore hungry for most of the morning. I kept reminding myself of this article I read - https://daniel-fast.com/food-faith-daniel-fast/ - Food vs Faith. I kept reminding myself that the aim is not to have a full stomach, its to draw closer to God. I stuck it out and now I'm on to Day 3!
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Day 3 Recap
Yesterday was rough!!! I had to remind myself that food wouldn't make it better. I worked out in the morning (CrossFit) and I guess that helped to drain my energy. Headaches, stomach burn, grogginess coupled with being slammed with work contributed to my low feeling. I didn't get to have my quiet time in the morning and even though I felt wiped out after a long day, I spent some time with God in the evening. I also spent a few minutes praying in the bathroom during the afternoon to ask God to help me through and He did!
 

Aggie

Well-Known Member
Day 3 Recap
Yesterday was rough!!! I had to remind myself that food wouldn't make it better. I worked out in the morning (CrossFit) and I guess that helped to drain my energy. Headaches, stomach burn, grogginess coupled with being slammed with work contributed to my low feeling. I didn't get to have my quiet time in the morning and even though I felt wiped out after a long day, I spent some time with God in the evening. I also spent a few minutes praying in the bathroom during the afternoon to ask God to help me through and He did!
Congrats for holding on hon. You are doing just fine. Day 3 is normally the hardest for me also. I will start weaning myself on Monday so that when next Wednesday comes, it should be a tiny bit easier - I hope.
 

Loving

Well-Known Member
Day 4 Recap
I think I've turned a corner. Yesterday was a good day. No headaches, no lack of energy, no weak feeling whatsoever. I have hunger pangs sometimes but that's the point right? I'm looking forward to the weekend when I can really spend some time with God.

I'm still reading The Circle Maker. What a great book! Its really opened my eyes to the true power of prayer.
 

mrselle

Well-Known Member
Day 5
The devil is attacking me and DH spiritually. 3 major bad things happened this week but I'm Inot giving up. That's what the devil wants but my GOD is GREATER!!!!!!! I'm already victorious and I'm willing to go through the process to become stronger and victorious.

Don't give up. The devil is just mad. Keep pushing. You got this and God has you.
 
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