Becoming Healthy Spiritually, Physically, and Emotionally: We Need All Three

In my quest to seek the Lord in exactly what He wants me to do to serve Him (I think there are several areas) and in my quest to become physically healthy again, I have decided to follow the example of a great man of God in the Scriptures. Daniel served God for 70 years and living in a land that was hostile to God, Daniel never lost his faith, he persevered in prayer, and he was not interested in power for his personal glory. Like Daniel, when we seek to serve the Lord, we must put pride completely to the side and seek to bring glory and honor to God and not to ourselves. This is why the Lord blessed Daniel as He did. I don't know about you, but I want God's favor on my life and on HIS ministry that He's using me to carry out. Our hearts need to be in the right place for the right reason and that is to lift His Name on high!

WHAT IS THE DANIEL FAST?

The Daniel Fast is a biblically based partial fast. It is a method of fasting that men, women and young people all over the world are using as they enter into the spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting.

There are two anchoring scriptures for the Daniel Fast. In Daniel 1 the Prophet ate only vegetables (that would have included fruits) and drank only water. So from these scriptures we get two of the guidelines for the fast:

•Only fruits and vegetables
•Only water for a beverage

Then in Daniel 10 we read that the Prophet ate no meat nor any precious breads or foods and he drank no wine for 21 days. So from this scripture, we get a third guideline:

•No sweeteners and no breads

Another important guideline is drawn from Jewish fasting principles, where no leaven is used during the fast. So that’s why yeast, baking powder and the like are not allowed on the Daniel Fast.
Finally, with all the above puzzle pieces, we conclude that no artificial or processed foods nor any chemicals are allowed on the Daniel Fast.

THE DANIEL FAST FOR THE BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT

The Bible teaches us that we are a spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body. The Daniel Fast affects all three parts of us as we enter into a period of time for focused prayer and fasting.
THE BODY
Certainly our bodies are effected as our diet is changed, for some in very dramatic ways, during the Daniel Fast. Many men and women experience detoxing from caffeine, chemicals and sugar. The symptoms are most often headaches, leg cramps, fatigue and malaise.

THE SOUL
Frequently referred to as “the flesh” in the Bible, the soul is also greatly impacted during the Daniel Fast. The soul is the seat of our emotions, intellect, personality and will. It is in the “soulish realm” where we experience cravings, frustration, anger . . . and even happiness.
During the Daniel Fast, your soul may very well rebel against the dramatic change in your diet. Experiencing and winning this battle over the flesh is often one of the most powerful lessons of the Daniel Fast.

THE SPIRIT
Our spirit is that born-again part of us that surrenders to God and then abides with the Father and the Son. Our spirit is filled with the Holy Spirit when we yield to Him. During the Daniel Fast, we want to put our spirit in charge of the other two parts of us. When our flesh is acting out with a craving, we take control of it with our spirit (just as a parent takes control of a rebellious child).

Fasting is always coupled with a spiritual goal. So during this time of fasting, you will want to focus on prayer, study and meditation. ~ from The Daniel Fast