Many have asked what is the Daniel Fast. It is based on the book of Daniel in the bible.
The Daniel Fast is a spiritual fast modeled on an incident that occurred in the Book of Daniel in the late sixth century B.C. The Daniel Fast is based on a restricted diet, much different than another diet called Lent by standard Christians, often at a different time of the year (usually in January).
Chapter 1 records Daniel rejecting the ‘royal food and wine’ to avoid “defilement” in accordance with strict Mosaic dietary restrictions. Therefore, Daniel requested that he and his companions eat only vegetables and water. This resulted in Daniel and the others prospering physically and spiritually above all others in the king’s quarters. Strictly speaking this was not a fast but a desire to please God by observing the law of Moses.
Chapter 10 recounts another incident of Daniel restricting his intake of certain foods. Some have attempted to show this as an example of fasting but was actually a lack of desire to eat certain foods as a result of a dream that caused him to mourn. This caused him to eat no delicacies, eating no meat, and drinking no wine for three weeks. The result of this dietary restriction was Daniel receiving another visitation by an angel and prophecies concerning Persia and Greece, all of which took place.
It is this last recount that serves as the primary model for the most popular version of the Daniel Fast. While many enter into the Daniel Fast throughout the year, the most popular time is in January at which time tens of thousands of Christian men and women consecrate themselves, for three weeks. During these three weeks they adhere to a simple diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and water. They also concentrate on prayer.
In reference to the book of “Daniel” when Nebuchadnezzer demands an interpretation of his dream(s) does this mean that he (Daniel) must apply certain values?
Hi Regina – I am not sure of what you mean, but this is my understanding of what was going on. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and he wanted someone to interpret the dream for him. He asked magicians and fortune-tellers to tell him his dream and what it meant. They could not do it, so he ordered them killed. Daniel didn’t want them to be killed so he asked God to reveal the dream to him and God did. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar his dream in detail and as result Nebuchadnezzar said to him, “Truly I know your God is the greatest of all gods, the Lord of all the kings.”
He said this to Daniel because he knew that only God could be in the mix of revealing such a complex dream in such detail to someone.
I gather that sometimes we want magicians and fortune-tellers to reveal things to us or “show us the future”, when we should just Trust in God to lead us to our future and to fulfill his promises to us. Because only he truly knows what the future holds. So in this case that is the “value” lesson. Do you agree?