"The Daniel Fast"

Hello, online audience. I have finally returned after a long absence from the writing scene. Due to my need to finish out my third semester of college with fairly average grades and staying busy with work, family events and procrastination, I have finally found time during my month-long winter break to catch up anyone who has happened to read any of my previous posts from last year. I used this blog initially to vent my feelings but then it evolved into a way of sharing any of my written works, thoughts and devotions that happened to spring upon me at the moment I started to write. I want to return back to writing in my blog because I have recently decided to take part in a period of prayer and fasting with my church to start the new year off right. It's going to last for about two weeks and if anyone out there decides to take part with me, I'd love to get any feedback or encouragement from you about your experiences.

I am starting the fast today by taking part in what is called a "Daniel Fast." This type of fast comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 1, in the Bible when Daniel and some of his Israelite friends were chosen to be trained to enter into service for King Nebuchadnezzar while captive in Babylon. Daniel was accompanied by other men from Judah: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were all given Babylonian names to replace their given names.

Daniel => Belteshazzar
Hananiah => Shadrach
Mishael => Meshach
Azariah => Abednego

Their Babylonian names are the ones that most people recognize because of the latter three's story later on in the book of Daniel about their trials in the firy furnace. However, these four men started out as regular Israelite captives, plucked from obscurity and brought into the palace for God's specific purposes for each man.

During their training period, the king assigned royal food and wine for the men to eat while they were trained for service in Babylon. Daniel and his three friends decided that since most of the items went against their religion, they did not want to defile themselves by eating food that had been sacrificed to pagan gods. They requested that they would be permitted to eat and drink only vegetables and water for ten days and at the end, be compared to the health of the other men who had dieted differently for the same time period.

At the end of the ten day trial period, those who partook in the vegetable and water diet looked healthier and better nourished than all of the other men who had eaten the royal food. Therefore, the officials allowed them to continue their revised diet after that. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were then blessed by God with greater knowlege, understanding and wisdom which surpassed all the other wise men in the King's service by ten times and were honored for years to come. It says at the end of chapter one that Daniel remained in King Nebuchadnezzar's service until the first year of King Cyrus. 

 By taking part in this fast, I hope to spend more time delving into God's Word to find new insight and wisdom for the year ahead of me. I pray that I can make the right decisions in regards to my future education in the years to come and I also want to pray for the people around me that may need intercessory prayer or encouragement from a friend. Lately, my faith has not received a good diet of God's Word and prayer and I feel I must return to a new and better routine which includes these things.

During the coming weeks, I hope that I can find more time to write in this blog to encourage both myself and others by any insights I might receive during this time of fasting. I may not be sticking true to the Daniel Fast as I am including fruits in my diet of vegetables and water, but I know that the next two weeks will present a difficult challenge for me in enduring the temptations that will arise. Anyone who has done a fast before can attest to this. I hope that anyone who happens upon this entry will take a few minutes out of their day to pray for myself and everyone in my church who is also taking part in this fast. I will try to keep this blog going day-to-day throughout this fast, so try to keep up with the new entries that should be coming your way.

Thanks for reading!