Author Archives: Nannette

About Nannette

Wife to The Sweetheart, Mom to the Fantastic Six, Nana to six of the cutest littles on the planet, Author, The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. UPCI ministers.

Fasting Together: Is there POWER in Fasting?

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Fasting Together: Is there POWER in fasting?  Satan would love for us to stay in the dark about the benefits of fasting! Whatever you choose, there are no rules, it is between you and God, so fast unto the Lord and pray, asking Him to root out the ugly and replace it with His grace, wisdom and spiritual clarity. He will do it!

Daniel was in a battle with the spirit world when he went on his 21 days of fasting and prayer. Satan and his cohorts resisted the angels that were to be sent for an answer to his prayers, but finally, they were able to break through. The earth began to quake and the men that were with Daniel fled because of fear! You can read of this battle in Daniel the tenth chapter.

Twenty-one days Daniel had been fasting…no pleasant bread, no flesh (meat) and no wine touched his lips. Basically fruits, vegetables, whole grains and only water to drink. (Don’t forget your water, so very important!) He was humbling himself before God and denying himself things that he would normally enjoy. And when he did that, look what happened: It shook heaven and hell.

Is there power in fasting? Yes!

Does it matter if we do it or not? Yes!

The spirit world is real. Angels are working on our behalf and God wants to release power like we have never seen before in these last days. However, we must do our part. We are not going to experience it just sitting around doing nothing.

Lack of knowledge of the power of fasting keeps us from experiencing the rewards that come with it!

Daniel has a vision at the end of this three week fast: “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict. And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” Daniel 10:1-3 ESV.

Three weeks of fasting had made Daniel very weak and he says to the angel, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.” Daniel 10:16, 17 ESV. The angel immediately responds!

“Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, ‘O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.’ And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.’” Daniel 10:18, 19 ESV.

He was strengthened over and over again in this encounter with the angels. He had finished his three week fast and was physically without strength. The Bible even says that the man in the vision tells Daniel that Michael, the archangel and this other angel were fighting together in the spirit world for Daniel!

Daniel was fasting unto the Lord. Jehovah didn’t turn his back on Daniel but honored his sacrifice and his commitment and sent warrior angels on his behalf. (We will explore this story more in depth in a later post.)

He will do the same for you.

Fast as unto the Lord. Watch and see what will happen in your life this year when you put fasting and prayer together.

Need your own copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional? Get it on Amazon by clicking here!

Fasting Together: When fasting turns ugly

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Fasting Together: When fasting turns ugly. Wow. What a title, and what in the world is ugly about fasting unless it is the hunger? Join me and we will see!  We are blogging every day this month to assist anyone participating in ANY FAST. We focus on the Daniel Fast with recipes but our devotions and encouragement are a benefit to anyone on any fast. I hope they are a blessing to you. You can catch up on any you have missed here!

Ahab, King of Samaria, was not one of the nicest people in the world…back in the day. As a matter of fact only one person was known to be WORSE than ole King Ahab and that was his wife, whose name has since become synonymous with a manipulative, controlling and even wicked individual. Maybe you have heard it said that one has a Jezebel spirit. It is not a compliment!

King Ahab married Jezebel out of the will of God and relinquished his power as king, and husband, to her. (1 Kings 1).

Their roles were reversed from the get-go and it spelled disaster.

Ahab comes home one day upset because there is a beautiful vineyard that he wants to have next to the palace but he cannot because it is owned by one named Naboth and Naboth wants to keep it in his family and does not wish to sell. Ahab offers him a very fair price but still Naboth declines. Ahab is so upset that he comes home and will not eat.

Jezebel is furious with Ahab for his weak ways and declares that the vineyard will be his, or theirs, or if we are being plain, HERS! She begins to plot her plan. She writes letters to the elders and the nobles and says, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.” 1 Kings 21:9-10.

So, naturally, her minions follow her instructions and Naboth is killed. But, did you catch what has happened here? Jezebel has proclaimed a fast! Obviously, religion was the furthest thing from her mind, or Ahab’s either. But in order to make it all look good, she must order the fast as if to appear that either a threat has been made on Ahab’s life or a calamity is coming upon the kingdom.

She sits Naboth “on high among the people”, not necessarily as the guilty one, according to commentaries, but because of his high honor in the community. Then, when the two men that have been planted to tell lies against him begin their stories, Naboth will be seated up where the guilty usually sit, where everyone can see him.

It worked. Just like she planned it; he was convicted, and stoned to death.

When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he hurried down to take possession of the vineyard. News travels fast because the Lord also told the prophet, Elijah…

“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? …In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” 1 Kings 21:18-19.

But that wasn’t all. Elijah had much to say to Ahab that day and began to tell him of all his wicked ways and how he was about to come face to face to judgment for the evil life that he had lived. In other words, his time was up!

You just don’t play around with the things of God and get by with it forever. There are consequences for sin. Sometimes it is in this life, sometimes it is not until Judgment, but there are consequences. Fasting and prayer are effective, life-changing, powerful ways to see things happen in the spirit world! But God does not honor efforts that are used against others for harm and evil influence like we have seen here with Jezebel.

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God was letting Ahab know there were to be consequences for the actions of his wife and that Ahab was just as guilty of murder as if he had pulled the trigger.

“But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” 1 Kings 21:25.

But something must have struck a chord in Ahab for the Bible tells us that he was listening to the prophet Elijah!

“And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.”

Here he is fasting again…but not because Jezebel has told him to, not because he is trying to deceive anyone and not because he is trying to murder anyone to take something from them that isn’t his!

“And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” 1 Kings 21:28-29.

He is fasting because he is broken, he is scared and he is humbled.

And the Lord said because he HUMBLED himself he spared Ahab the judgment in HIS days. Jezebel still comes to an untimely end as promised before, she doesn’t humble herself one bit as far as the scriptures tell us. But Ahab had learned his lesson for now.

There are fasts that are NOT pleasing to God. Fasts that are only to be seen of men. Fasts that make us “look good” or “holy”. Fasts that are just to make us lose weight, ahem, we call those diets! Of course we have covered in previous posts if you lose weight from fasting that is another matter entirely, and we have had testimonies of lives changed permanently through fasting for their health. Our lives SHOULD be changed from fasting!

Fasts are also not to be used against others. Sounds ridiculous to even say it, but Jezebel tried it!

The fast that works is the kind that is coupled with prayer, humility and brokenness. A fast that keeps you on your knees and searching for more time with the Savior. Cleaning out the old and letting God fill you up with more and more of His spirit. Changing the inside!!

Nothing is too hard for God, if he can humble a man like Ahab, there is hope for all of us! Let our fasting be done with humility of heart, for the right purpose, to draw closer to Him, to reach for others and to seek the perfect will of God for our lives.

Need your own copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional? Get it on Amazon by clicking here!

Fasting Together: Anoint your head, wash your face!

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Fasting Together: Anoint your head, wash your face!  I had planned on continuing with the Armor of God series and Fasting but have had a family emergency and could not finish my post. I am sharing  an actual excerpt from my book, The Daniel Fast Devotional which you can get here. (The title of the chapter is different in the book.) It will take you on a daily journey and is great to have with you for ANY FAST. Thank you for grace and I will be back tomorrow!

Let’s go!

The Daniel Fast is a Bible-based, partial fast taken from Daniel 1 and Daniel 10 when Daniel the Prophet refrained from eating anything but vegetables (this would have included fruits, although most participants do eat them) and drank only water. It is comparable to a vegan diet with a few more restrictions. We will talk about them further at the end of the post.

Daniel was born in the kingdom of Judah in a noble household. King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, taking 650,000 of Daniel’s countrymen into bondage, back to his Babylonian kingdom. The king decreed that all of the young and handsome princes from Judah must go into a training program to work in the king’s court. Daniel was among the chosen.
They were to be fed very well, with rich meats, sweets and plenty of wine. The only problem was that the men from Judah followed the Law of Moses and did not consume many of the foods on the list! Additionally, the Babylonians’ food was usually part of a sacrifice to their idols. Daniel would most definitely not have consumed food used as a sacrifice to an idol made of stone, wood or any other material; He served the One, True God, Jehovah!

Daniel asked if he and his men could abstain from the rich and pleasant food for only ten days to prove that their way of eating, only vegetables and water was much healthier for their bodies. They agreed and… “At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.” Daniel 1:15, 16 ESV.

Right away we see how beneficial a fast of this nature is to the body. In only ten days it was noticeable that these men were not eating rich foods! They looked better and they felt better.
For Daniel, it wasn’t just about the right way to eat. He was connected to the Source as well. He served the Most High and wasn’t intimidated by those around him. He fasted for the right reasons and God honored him.

You will be wasting your time if you are just cutting out meats, sweets, breads and your favorite fancy coffee but never take time to pray!

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” Daniel 6:10 ESV.

Daniel is recorded to have prayed at least three times every day, usually at the same time. It is so helpful if you can start your day with the Lord, spend some time in His Word and get strengthened for the day ahead; you are going to need it.

If you have specific things you are fasting about, whether it is your job, finances, your marriage, children, extended family, direction, healing, restoration, whatever the need, ask the Holy Spirit for guidance.

If you have offended someone, or if there is sin that needs forgiveness, repent. Take care of that at the beginning of the fast. “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4 KJV.

You will also receive strength to resist and to be able to turn from sinful habits. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV.

Hopefully, it goes without mentioning, (and in this case we aren’t going totally without food), but let’s go over it just for the record. We do not want to “appear to men to fast.” Let us see what Jesus said about it: “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:16-18 KJV.

We can understand clearly here Jesus was saying to not walk around with your head down, pouting that you have to fast. The Word says, “they have their reward”, meaning that is all they have, recognition. They gloried in the appearance of fasting!

This should be something between you and God, unless of course your entire church congregation is doing it, then of course, that is a corporate fast and it is not a secret. It is also good to have a close friend praying for you during an extended fast. The purpose is to focus on Him and not bring attention to yourself.

The Lord will bless the sincere heart that seeks Him! So do it with all that is within you, every day, as a sacrifice unto your God, denying yourself pleasures that you would normally enjoy.

Do not try to make your new foods taste like your normal diet; otherwise it is not a sacrifice.
Remember, we are denying ourselves things that we enjoy, so we only eat until we are satisfied. We are not stuffing ourselves until we are sick.

You will still enjoy your meals and you will delight in this clean, healthy way of eating.

Remember, the Daniel Fast, or any other, is to be a sacrifice. It is a time of commitment to the Lord, a time of drawing near to Him and denying the flesh of some of its pleasures. You do not want to gorge yourself on this fast. Just enjoy a regular meal with normal-sized portions. You will likely lose weight on the fast if you eat three simple meals a day and maybe two small snacks.

Make time at the beginning of your day to spend with God; you can do it! Set that alarm a few minutes early and you will not be sorry. Meditate on the Word. Feed on the manna that comes from above and just see how rich your mind and soul will become during this time of devotion to God. Our desire should be to know HIM.

We are not on a diet; we are striving to be more like Jesus. Paul said, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…” Philippians 3:10 KJV. God is well pleased as you sacrifice what is pleasurable to you on a daily basis.

Join me again tomorrow as we continue on and be sure and share this post and share YOUR thoughts, questions or insights!

Need your own copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional? Get it on Amazon by clicking here!