Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough- Part 2

Equipping Believers to Live by Faith

I was about 22 years old when I first heard of a Daniel fast. At the time, the idea seemed ludicrous to me. I was fully convinced that all believers should engage in seasons of fasting. However, my concept of fasting was that you ate no food for a specified period of time and drank only water. During lengthier seasons of fasting, adding juice seemed a reasonable concession. I thought the idea of eating specified foods sounded more like a diet than a fast.

My pastor had for many years begun the year with a forty-day juice fast. Although I had never fasted for that long, he was a great inspiration to me and constantly challenged me to live a disciplined life. As the new year approached, Pastor Brashear found himself battling serious blood sugar problems. Nonetheless, he boldly announced that he would begin his annual fast as planned. An elderly lady in the church later confessed that she prayed, “Dear God, please give that preacher some sense before he kills himself.” After much prayer and counsel, Pastor Brashear announced that instead of a juice fast, he was going to engage in a forty-day “Daniel fast” and invited our church to join him. He explained that this basically meant forty-days eating only fruits and vegetables and drinking only water. With this announcement, a significant portion of our church family launched into this new endeavor. I’ll return to this story in a moment. First, let’s look at some scripture.

The concept of a Daniel fast is generally formed from a synthesis of two Bible passages. The first is found in the first chapter of Daniel.

8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s food, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested of the master of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into favor and compassion with the master of the officials. 10 The master of the officials said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king who has appointed your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse-looking than the youths who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

11 Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the master of the officials had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before you, and the countenance of the youths who eat of the portion of the king’s food. And as you see, deal with your servants.” 14 So he consented to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

15 At the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter than all the youths who ate the portion of the king’s food. 16 Thus the guard continued to take away the portion of their food and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Daniel was one of a group of young Hebrews who were taken to Babylon against their will. The plan was to educate and indoctrinate them in the ways of the Babylonians and then use them to lead their people. As a devout Jew, Daniel’s faith required his food to be prepared in specific ways and it did not allow him to eat some kinds of food. When he learned that they would be given the king’s food and wine, Daniel knew it would be a violation of his faith. He did not request lavish accommodations for his faith. Rather, he asked that he and his friends be given a diet of vegetables and water for a ten-day test period. It appears that God supernaturally blessed this act of faith. Not only were they healthier than the others, but God deposited supernatural gifts within them as well.

17 As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in every branch of learning and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all kinds of visions and dreams.

For each day of this test period, God multiplied his blessings upon them. After only a week and a half, they were found to have advanced ten times beyond their counterparts!

18 Now at the end of the days that the king had set for them to be brought in, the master of the officials brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king spoke with them, and, among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they served before the king. 20 In all matters of wisdom and understanding which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.

It appears that Daniel and his three friends continued with a diet of vegetables and water, at least during that preparatory season. However, what God did for them during those first ten days is truly astounding! Some contend that this cannot rightly be called fasting. I disagree. While it is not doing without food entirely, it is a decision not to be defiled by participation in things that are viewed as normal by most. It is a decision to live a disciplined life by faith that is set apart from those around you. It’s powerful! The second passage that is often used to describe the Daniel fast is found in the tenth chapter of Daniel. This differs from what we see in the first chapter in a variety of ways. One of those is that it is more directly identified as a fast. The word “fast” is not used, but Daniel does describe himself as being in a state of “mourning.”

2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no tasty food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

By this stage in Daniel’s life, he was no longer living only on vegetables and water. Babylonian rule had ended, and the Persians had assumed control of the land. At this time, Daniel had a revelation that troubled him deeply. His response was to spend twenty-one days in fasting. The Bible indicates that he ate, but his diet was very limited. In the King James Version, it says he ate no “pleasant bread.” The MEV says he “ate no tasty food.” We are specifically told that he abstained from meat and wine. This passage is especially beautiful, in that it supplies commentary from Heaven’s perspective about what Daniel was doing. After three weeks of fasting, the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and said this,

12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. For from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.

God saw Daniel’s modified diet and his spiritual and emotional posture as an act of humility and as a desire for understanding. What a beautiful picture of fasting! It is not about inflicting pain on our bodies. It is about humbling ourselves and positioning ourselves to gain understanding from God. The next verses sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel.

13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14Now I have come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days. For the vision is yet for many days.”

15When he had spoken such words to me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became mute. 16Then one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, because of the vision, sorrows have come upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17How can the servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? And as for me, there remains no strength in me now, nor is there any breath left in me.”

18Then again, the one having the appearance of a man came and touched me, and he strengthened me. 19He said, “O man, greatly beloved, do not fear. Peace be unto you. Be strong and courageous!”

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

20Then he said, “Do you understand why I have come to you? But now I shall return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, then truly the prince of Greece will come. 21But I will show you what is inscribed in the Scripture of Truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces, except Michael your prince.

Whoa! Have you ever wondered why it seemed like your prayers were not being answered? How long did it take before you gave up? Daniel fasted for three weeks before the answer came, but when it finally arrived, what a revelation that was! While Daniel was fasting and praying (humbling himself and seeking understanding), supernatural forces collided in spiritual warfare as an angelic messenger fought his way through to come speak with Daniel. There is no indication that Daniel was aware of a twenty-one-day standoff between angels and demons. He only knew that it was time for him to seek the face of God. This is deeply instructive. We don’t always know what’s going on behind the scenes, but we should never think that our prayers aren’t working.

Returning to my story, forty days of fruits, vegetables, and water proved to be more transformative than I could have possibly imagined. What made it transformative? Prayer and obedience. Fasting without prayer is just a diet, but fasting with prayer is supernatural! I am forever grateful to my pastor for calling that fast. I’m also grateful for the lady who prayed that God would give him wisdom when he needed it.

A brief note of humor before concluding…about half-way into our corporate fast, the worship leader broke into a song that was popular at the time. However, this time she changed the lyrics up. Together we sang, “We are hungry. We are hungry. We are hungry for more than fruit. We are thirsty, oh pastor. Can’t we have just a little juice? Cheese pizza and fried chicken, these are the things that I love. Our blood sugar is dropping rapidly lower and lower for you!” If you are shaking your head and laughing at our immaturity, so did Pastor Brashear. It’s ok. Sometimes you need to laugh.

In this season of fasting, don’t fall into the trap of judging someone else for doing things differently than you do. There are times when God calls people to fast with no food. This is generally for short periods of time. In fact, I do not recommend going lengthy seasons with no food at all unless you have a specific direction from God. Even then, it is wise to be conscious of the condition of your health. Many have asked me over the years if a Daniel fast really makes a difference. Decide for yourself. After ten days of vegetables and water, Daniel and his three friends were found to be ten times greater than the other young men. Their aptitude for education increased supernaturally and Daniel was given insight into dreams. After twenty-one days with “no tasty food” and no meat or wine, Daniel received a visitation from an angel who had fought through demonic powers to deliver him a message from Heaven. It seems like maybe it was effective.

At Link Church, our pastor has called us to a season of fasting this January. We are joined by believers all over the world who have likewise entered such a season. What does God think of fasting from the right heart? Let’s read those words again. “...from the first day that you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words.” In seasons of fasting and prayer, the invisible warfare can be exhausting. May we all take comfort in the words that were spoken to Daniel at the end of those twenty-one days, “…greatly beloved, do not fear. Peace be unto you. Be strong and courageous!”

Oh, by the way, Daniel’s three friends are better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they later faced the fiery furnace, I’m certain they were glad they had lived lives of fasting and prayer. In his old age, Daniel himself was thrown into a den of lions. The God he had spent a lifetime devoted to showed up once again, and as a friend said to me tonight, the lions then did the Daniel fast.