Daniel Fast for Clarity

Dear beloved: Now is a a great time to fast for clarity and rededication of purpose as we transition from 2011 into 2012. It is good to rest and be restored, and the best way to do that is with a time of fasting and intensified prayer. I have been in a Daniel fast this year as I have for several years past, and already the spiritual and physical benefits are being poured out on me in abundance. From Daniel 1:12, Daniel said to the overseer, " please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables (pulses) to eat and some water to drink. v13 Then let our appearance be observed in your presence, and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king's choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see." And again in Daniel 10:2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. v3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks was completed.

So twice in the book of Daniel, he speaks of a special diet in relation to prayer and obtaining favor, both spiritually and in physical apppearance. Basically the Daniel fast as it is practiced today is primarily a vegetable, fruit, legume, and whole grain diet, with plenty of freedom of choice that anyone with any desire to fast can easily conform to the restrictions. The results of it for you and me are exactly the same as it was for Daniel, as we read in Daniel 1:15, And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice food. v16 So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. v17 And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of dreams and visions.

The result of Daniel's fast in Daniel 10 was even more profound: after three weeks of fasting and prayer Daniel was visited by the angel of the Lord. His physical description was given in verses five and six, and then the purpose of the visit was spoken in verse 11; and he said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words than I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling." v12 The he said to me, " Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on hmbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words." And so as a result of humbling himself, and fasting and praying for three weeks, Daniel is given great favor and and a visit from the angel of the Lord. When the angel of the Lord visits you, you know victory is at hand! Beloved, are their issues in your life where you need to see victory, or you need clarity and a renewed vigor? Consider fasting for renewal and watch God work in your life. He will show up with power and restore and rejuvenate you, and prepare you in even greater measure for the year ahead. May God bless you as you move forward in 2012! in Christ, Jim