Daniel Fast | ccc2015

Daniel Fast 2018

Starts: January 4th and breaks

January 14th with a fellowship meal

at Castlewood Canyon Church

Goals For Fasting:

1. Oneness with the Father (John 17; 8:26, 28-29)

a. Hear the heart beat of Father God

1) Through His Word

a) Make time to read His Word beyond your present reading

2) Through your spirit

a) Make time to wait upon the Father (Isa. 40:31)

b) Waiting helps us HEAR!

b. Know the Father as Yeshua knew His Father

1) There are no short cuts to intimacy with the Father

2) Make time to be with the Father

c. Do what the Father tells us to do

1) Journal what the Father shares with you

2) Put action to what the Father says to you to do

2. Increase our CARE level for others (Matthew 25:36-40; Luke 10:34, 35)

a. To feel concern or interest; look after & provide for the needs of others

b. Ask the Father to help you to care MORE for others!

c. As we increase our care level for others

1) People will be touched by the Father

2) Others will be encouraged by our interest in them

3) Divine appointments will open up to tell someone about Yeshua (Jesus)

3. Experience the value of Fasting (Matt. 6:16-18; Lu. 5:33-35; Isa. 58:3-6)

a. The Daniel fast contains food (see handout). Missing a meal daily or occasionally during our fast time is encouraged, unless your doctor discourages you due to health reasons. Drink plenty of water!

b. Refer to notes from The Change The World School Of Prayer manual Chapter three, pages 165-169, by Dick Eastman, used with permission by Every Home For Christ 2017

4. Unite together in prayer nightly at 7:14pm (taken from 2 Chron. 7:14)

a. Free conference prayer call 712-770-4115 access code 464463

b. Prayer points taken from The Believer’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13)

1)There are 10 prayer points. Each prayer point will be led by a different volunteer nightly

2) Only Tues. Jan. 9th we will NOT have a prayer call as we will be at CCC in our corporate Prayer Hour

c. Daily emails will be sent out with prayer insights to bring encouragement to our 10-days together with prayer points for CCC

More info: Ultimate Daniel Fast (Filling those who hunger) ultimatedanielfast.com

Food List

The Daniel Fast is based upon the prophet Daniel’s experiences as recorded in the Bible. Scripture gives us some insight (such as in Dan. 10:3) into what he ate and didn’t eat; however, we don’t know his complete menu. What we do know is this: In Daniel 1, Daniel chose not to eat the royal food that he was being served and ate only vegetables and drank water. Another time (in Daniel 10:2-3) he deprived himself of choice food, meat, and wine as he sought the Lord in prayer. Most commentaries believe “choice food” would have been bread and sweets.

This is why, you will find some variation in the specific guidelines for the modern-day Daniel Fast, as far as what foods are included and which ones are restricted. The food guidelines on this website are the ones most commonly observed in a Daniel Fast. The intention of today’s Daniel Fast is not to duplicate exactly what Daniel did but the spirit in which he did it. Daniel’s passion for the Lord caused him to hunger and thirst more for spiritual food than for physical food, which should be the desire of anyone choosing to participate in this type of fast.

Try not to get too hung up on what you should and shouldn’t eat. The most important part of the Daniel Fast is that you deny yourself physically so that you may seek the Lord in prayer and grow closer to Him. Your fast may look a little different than someone else’s, and that’s fine. Some people may need to be stricter than others in their food choices so that their fast is a sacrifice for them. These food guidelines are meant to be just that – a guide. They are given to help you create boundaries for your fast.

The Daniel Fast Food List

All fruit – fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned.
All vegetables – fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned.
All whole grains – amaranth, barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, millet, and whole wheat.
All nuts & seeds – almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds; unsweetened almond milk. Nut butters are also included.
All legumes – canned or dried; black beans, black eyed peas, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils, pinto beans, and split peas.
All quality oils – avocado, coconut, grapeseed, olive, peanut, sesame, and walnut.
Water – distilled water, filtered water, and spring water.
Milk – unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or soy milk; herbs, spices, salt, pepper, unsweetened coconut flakes, seasonings, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, soy products, and tofu.

Foods to Avoid on the Daniel Fast

All meat & animal products – bacon, beef, buffalo, eggs, fish, lamb, poultry, and pork.
All dairy products – butter, cheese, cream, milk, and yogurt.
All sweeteners – agave nectar, artificial sweeteners, brown rice syrup, cane juice, honey, molasses, raw sugar, syrups, stevia, and sugar.
All leavened bread & yeast – baked goods and Ezekiel bread (if it contains yeast and honey).
All refined & processed food products – artificial flavorings, chemicals, food additives, preservatives, white flour, and white rice.
All deep-fried foods – corn chips, French fries, and potato chips.
All solid fats – lard, margarine, and shortening.
Drinks – alcohol, carbonated drinks, coffee, energy drinks, herbal tea and tea.

FASTING AND PRAYER

The Change The World School Of Prayer

Lecture Hall Three

Study Hall Eleven

Dick Eastman

“Used with permission by Every Home for Christ 2017”

Anyone can pray, to be sure, but all too few pray with world-changing power. What is it that changes ordinary praying into powerful praying? One sure answer is fasting in prayer. Fasting is the practice of deliberately abstaining from usual nourishment for the purpose of adding power to our prayer as well as stimulating our spiritual growth.

Without question fasting adds power to our praying that is obtained in no other way. S. L. Brengle wrote, “All men who have had spiritual power to prevail with God and man, have been men who have learned to sternly deny themselves and keep their bodies under.” Fasting is one clear way to “sternly deny” ourselves in order to be more focused in our praying. Every great worker who has significantly impacted his age mightily for God understood and practiced fasting. No study of prayer could ever be complete without a careful look at the importance of fasting in relationship to prayer. Here we examine several facts about the discipline of fasting.

1. Fasting puts the body in its proper place.

The Old Testament teaches that God ordained Israel to set aside a special day annually in order to “afflict their souls” (Leviticus 16:29, NKJV). It was called the Day of Atonement. The word “afflict,” as used here, seems to suggest that fasting was the means by which man’s spirit took authority over his body. This was done by abstinence, and abstinence caused a certain measure of denial and suffering. The latter was caused because the body is accustomed to its regular intake of food.

In the New Testament Paul addressed the subject in this manner: “But I discipline my body, and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27, NKJV). Although some might argue that Paul doesn’t specifically refer to fasting here, it is clear that fasting is a key way to accomplish this. When a believer practices the art of fasting he or she is serving notice on his body. It is the spirit saying to the flesh, “I am the boss, and never forget it.”

An interesting sidelight concerns the expression “discipline my body” (or beat my body,” NIV) as used by Paul in the above verse. Scholars say the thought here is of going into a boxing ring and fighting a fight. To fast is to put up a fight, not just with Satan but with one’s flesh.

2. Fasting gives victory over temptation.

It is obvious that our Lord believed in fasting. He did, after all, begin His ministry with 40 days of fasting (Matthew 4:1-2). Apparently a major purpose of this fasting was to provide Christ victory over temptation. Surely the same would apply to Christ’s followers. No Christian, of course, is ever exempt from temptation. Because of this we need all available power to withstand these attacks. Fasting, though difficult to explain, releases just such power needed to win those battles over both Satan and self.

3. Fasting provides wisdom for making major decisions.

It is significant that Jesus spent an entire night in prayer before choosing His disciples. Many Bible scholars believe He did this without food and water. Perhaps this would suggest that fasting in prayer can be vital to the believer’s quest for guidance in serious matters. No doubt fasting aids the prayer warrior in clearing his or her mind of those distractions that might hinder wise decisions.

4. Fasting accelerates the process of world evangelism.

In a noteworthy book on this subject, Prayer and Fasting, the author declares, “If God’s people will go on to seek Him more earnestly with prayer and fasting on a wider scale, we shall see a move of the Holy Spirit throughout the entire world such as history has never yet recorded. Indeed, we shall see fulfilled the prophecy of Habakkuk 2:14: ‘For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Frankly, if our prayer lists were covered with far more prayer and fasting, our new converts lists would hardly hold the names. Fasting adds a mysterious, though obvious, power to all our efforts. The most recent missionary research estimates indicate that over 200,000 people are coming to Christ throughout the world every day, including as may as 500,000 alone in China. Surely much of these extraordinary results can be traced to the increased emphasis on fasting and prayer in recent years.

5. Fasting was vital in the lives of past Church leaders.

Even a casual study of Church history reveals how important fasting was to those who paved the way in spreading the Gospel around the world. Consider the early days of the powerful Methodist revival. John Wesley so believed in the importance of fasting that he refused to ordain young men to the Methodist ministry who would not fast a portion of two days each week, Wednesdays and Fridays, until the evening meal. Martin Luther fasted regularly, as did John Knox. Concerning fasting, Charles Finney said, “Sometimes I would find myself, in a great measure, empty of this power. I would go and visit, and find that I made no saving impression. I would exhort and pray, with the same result. I would then set apart a day for private fasting and prayer, fearing that this power had departed from me, and would inquire anxiously after the reason of this apparent emptiness. After humbling myself and crying out for help, the power would return upon me with all its freshness. This has been the experience of my life.” It is clearly evident that church leaders of generations past believed much in the power of fasting.

6. Fasting prepares for effective leadership.

Fasting also seems to release power needed to prepare workers for the difficult tasks of world evangelization, as well as the care of the churches. Fasting mysteriously deals with the stubborn self-will of the inner man as it conquers outward desires of the flesh. Fasting seems to prepare the prayer warrior for an increased effectiveness in leadership since a Christian can only go forth to conquer the enemy after he has conquered himself.

7. Fasting leads to direct victory over Satan.

We recall the account in Scripture where Jesus and three disciples witnessed God’s glory on a mountain near Jerusalem. When they came down from the mountain the other disciples were attempting to deliver a demon-possessed boy. Frantically they sought a victory, but nothing seemed to bring deliverance. Observing their difficultly, Jesus stepped forth and promptly healed the youth. Then the Master carefully instructed His disciples on the secret to spiritual power. He said, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29, NKJV).

This account in Mark suggests that fasting leads to direct power over Satan. Whereas other prayer slows Satan, fasting-with prayer-appears to stop Satan in his tracks. It is not that regular prayer is absent of power but that fasting brings added power. Professor Hallesby provides this insight, “To make use of a rather mechanical, but nevertheless vivid illustration, we might compare this [fasting], with the transmission of electrical power. The greater the volume of power to be transmitted, the stronger the connection with the power house must be; that is, the larger the cable must be. Fasting helps to give us that inner sense of spiritual penetration by means of which we can discern clearly that for which the Spirit of prayer would have us pray in exceptionally different circumstances.”