Day 7 Daniel's Fast Devotional

Day 7

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”

When Daniel fasted, he did not receive the answer he was looking for right away, in fact his messenger was delayed.

By this point as we are starting our seventh day into the fast you’ve probably (hopefully) spent a lot of time in prayer, seeking the Lord and putting your petitions before Him. You may have heard an answer by now, but you may not have, either way, do not be discouraged. Just like Daniel, the moment you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, YOUR WORDS WERE HEARD. You may not see the immediate evidence of this but if you keep on praying, keep on persevering, keep on pushing into His presence, the day will come when your prayers will be answered according to His will for you.  Do not be discouraged, do not be dismayed, God is near to those who seek Him, in due timing your prayers will be answered. Wait patiently and expectantly until that time comes.

Day 6 Daniel's Fast Devotional

Day 6

Many times throughout our Christian walk we will have the opportunity to become lackadaisical in our spirits. This opportunity arises each time the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray, and we turn on the television instead. When we know we should wake up a little earlier to read our bibles, but we hit the snooze button until the very last second. When the Lord prompts us to go deeper into His presence with fasting and yet we choose to stuff our faces anyways.  When you feel that sense of conviction right before you are about to gossip about someone, yet you still blab your mouth. The opportunity to be spiritually lazy will comes to you more often then you may be aware of and it will leave more of an effect than you would have ever imaged if you are not proactive about your relationship with the Lord.

I believe one of the greatest rewards in fasting is the renewed hunger for God.  When you are fasting, you have a heightened awareness to these distractions that so easily bested us on a regular basis. As you fast and pray, your hunger for God grows immensely!

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34:8

When you are fasting you have the opportunity to truly taste and see that the Lord is good. Just as your body craves the sugars and carbs they once had, your spirit will crave the intimate time you spend in the presence of God during these 21 days long after the fast has completed. I encourage you this week, press in a little closer, go a little deeper, sing a little louder and dance a little freer. Release into the atmosphere all that God is stirring up within you during this fast.

Day 5 Daniel's Fast Devotional

Day 5

When you’re fasting, praying and seeking the Lord, your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit will be heightened in a way you may not have ever experienced before. Suddenly your convictions become stronger, your worship is a little deeper and your ears to hear are opened. Fasting is not only a way to get God’s attention but during this time you will undoubtedly hear from God in a more tangible way than ever before.

As you prepare this Sunday morning for church service, I challenge you to spend less time preparing your outward appearance and more time preparing your heart to hear from the Lord. Yield yourself to Him this morning; God is waiting to have an encounter with you. He is waiting to release something supernatural into your life, something so great that your life will forever be changed. This might look different for different people, but ultimately God knows each of our hearts, desires and needs. He will provide what He sees fit for YOU according to His will.

Let’s come into service the Sunday morning expecting more than a good worship set and message. Let’s prepare ourselves for something greater than the norm, let’s place an expectation on the Lord that He will not be able to overlook! It is my desire to see God move not only in my life and our church, but in our city, our families, and our communities. Let’s press in on this morning.  

Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95: 1-3

Daniels Fast Devotional Day 4

Day 4

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matthew 4:1-4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Let’s be honest, Jesus could have turned every stone into bread right at that moment. However, Jesus understood the difference between what He could do and what He should do. Many of us go day by day thinking just because we can do something; it means we should do it. That’s not always necessarily true. Is EATING a sin? Of course not! However, when you are fasting you must recognize you’re seeking after something more than just a full belly, you’re seeking a renewed spirit.

On the latter half of this piece of scripture, Jesus combats Satan with one of the most powerful weapons and triumphs over him. What weapon was that? The Word of God. It is important that as you are fasting you stay connected, reading the Word daily, meditating on it and fixing your attention on it throughout the day. Not only is it important in your spiritual development to partake in the Word of God, it will also be one of your greatest weapons in fighting the enemy when he comes to tempt you.

Over the duration of the fast remind yourself daily that ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ This will be one of your most powerful weapons in fighting the temptation you will face throughout fasting.

 

Day 3 Daniels Fast

Day 3

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 29:11- 14

The passage in the book of Jeremiah is possibly one of the most encouraging pieces of scripture in the bible. The truth is, we are all seeking to find purpose in life. “Who am I?” “What am I called to do?” “Why was I born?” We all have questions that run through our mind on a daily basis regarding our purpose in life, but how often do we truly seek out the answers to those questions? As you continue fasting, one thing is for certain; your sacrifice and commitment to the Lord will get His attention. This is your time to truly pursue the purpose for your life. Go before the Lord in prayer, seeking His will for your life.

I challenge you to begin a prayer journal, write down those things that you desire to hear from the Lord about. Pray for each of them diligently, and as the Lord begins to reveal the answers to you, keep a record of them. Fasting makes you sensitive to the Lord and during this time you will begin to hear both direction and correction from Him in a way you may not have heard in the past. This is your opportunity! Seek the Lord, He is there, waiting to be found!

Day 2 Daniels Fast

Day 2

By this point in the fast, you’ve probably been experiencing headaches that are a product of toxins leaving your body, or “withdrawal” pains from not having your daily caffeine intake. Your stomach may be grumbling and your hunger pains are making you wonder “Is this really worth it?” or “Is this really necessary?” Rest assured, this is just your flesh throwing a little fit as it faces some unwanted (and probably uncommon) discipline. As these feelings intensify before they cease, I would challenge you to ask yourself this question; how bad do I want it?

The bible clearly states in Matthew 6:33

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”

As you continue on over the next few weeks, remind yourself as you sacrifice and put God first in your life, seeking His presence and His purpose, He will then add all other things unto you. This fast will last you 21 days during the first month of 2013, however, your commitment and sacrifice to the Lord will not be quickly forgotten. God will honor your faithfulness throughout the year simply because you chose to follow His word and seek His kingdom FIRST.

Look at it like this, we’ve all been there before! You wake up late, you scramble to get ready, and you’re late to work with no time to get a coffee. What happens next? If you’re like many, your day has now begun a downward spiral… We all know that how we BEGIN will play a large role on how we finish off. Although you may be able to recover and salvage the rest of your day, it won’t be the same. Likewise, before you is a choice, to hit the snooze button on the calling God has placed on your life, and scramble to catch up later in the year, OR, rise and shine, seeking God FIRST and allowing these 21 days to lay the foundation of the remainder of your year.

The choice is yours! Do not allow temporary discomfort to change the course of your year!

Daniels Fast Devotion Day 1

Day 1

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

Each of us has a deep desire to draw closer to God; there is a longing within all of us for something more, something greater, and something deeper. If you didn’t have that desire, you wouldn’t have decided to embark on a 21 day fast such as this one. The truth is, most of us will go all year, hungry and thirsty for something more, wanting and longing to be filled yet we will never be satisfied. The problem with most of us is we look to the wrong things to quench these desires and we don’t realize what and who should really fill us. Some of us turn to relationships, others turn to shopping, eating, sports or working out. Although these things aren’t “bad”, they will only fill our time, but never fill the deepest desires of our spirit.

As you start this fast, keep this scripture in mind, remind yourself multiple times a day: BLESSED are those who HUNGER and THIRST for righteousness, for they SHALL be filled. It is God’s desire to fill your every void. As you begin to turn away from food, don’t allow yourself to turn to bickering, murmuring and complaining about how “hungry” you are, but realize there is a deeper hunger in your soul that WILL BE FILLED through PRAYER and FASTING.