The Daniel Fast: The hand of God was upon us

So what was Ezra’s request? Jewels? Land? Power?

No.

Ezra didn’t choose any of these; he chose to take some of the people of God back to Jerusalem. “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” Ezra 7:10 KJV.

The King gave a letter to Ezra outlining how all of this was to take place. The trip was to take four months. They were to have certain privileges along the way. The king gave them plenty of gold and silver for their journey and they were to stop and get more in Babylon.

Check this out: They were carrying 3.5. tons of silver, 600 bushels of wheat, 600 gallons of wine, 100 baths of olive oil, and an unlimited salt supply. This was not to be a poor caravan traveling through the desert; these people were going in style!

How did King Artaxerxes benefit from all of this generosity? He hoped to have peace with his neighbors “…for why should we risk bringing God’s anger against the realm of the king and his sons?” Ezra 7:23 NKJV.

Ezra was busy gathering the people for the trip and then he asked God for His blessing on the journey. Ezra’s character and true spirit come out here in this prayer.

“Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.” Ezra 8:21 NKJV.

Ezra wanted the people to humble themselves. The King James Version says to afflict, to repent, to show dependence on their God for the huge expedition they were about to embark upon. Ezra realized without God’s help they would be subject to thieves because they were carrying so much gold and other treasures.

But what he said next is amazing. “For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ‘The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.’ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.” Ezra 8:22, 23 NKJV.

He could have asked for a military escort because of all he was carrying but Ezra didn’t want to do that since he had already told the king that the hand of God was on them. Now he had to act on that faith.

Everything Ezra taught, everything he said, and now everything he believed, was being put into action.

So he did what he needed to do. He humbled himself, and made the people do the same. They fasted and entreated God, or prayed and asked God for help! Ezra knew that this God that he had put his faith and confidence in, this God that he had trusted and read about, wrote about and taught about continually, would be faithful. He was not disappointed for the Bible says,

“…and He answered our prayer.”

What need do you have today?

Is there something you have been struggling to even ask God about?

Is it His protection you wish?

Do you need His wisdom for a particular situation?

What about mercy? Are you struggling to give it where it is needed?

You don’t have to worry, fret and wring your hands in despair, trust as Ezra did, he lived for His God; he didn’t just talk about Him, he knew Him.

So when trouble came his way, or doubt tried to creep in, uncertainty or even thieves lurked nearby, he knew exactly what to do.

He humbled his soul with fasting, he prayed for God’s protection and then…

He stepped out in faith!

He arrived safely at his destination. He never lost any of the 25 tons of silver, silver articles weighing 3.75, tons, 3.75 tons of gold, 20 huge bowls of gold, all which would have been worth millions of dollars today. All of the people could now worship their God in their homeland. Once again, Jehovah had protected them from harm.

So walk in victory today. God is on your side! You can trust Him to be faithful when you live for Him and put Him first.

“And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy…” Ezra 8:31 NKJV.

The Daniel Fast: It’s not about the food!

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It’s the end of another year and many begin the New Year with fasting. Since 2014, I have blogged the month of January about fasting and, in particular, about The Daniel Fast. The response was so overwhelming that you all encouraged a Devotional out of it! Thank you! Beginning January 1, I will be available and be posting devotions and recipes and tips every day to help you on ANY FAST. Join me!

Today, leading up to the Fast, I thought we could focus on making sure we are not more obsessed with what we are eating than the reason for the fast in the first place.

If you have chosen to fast food completely for a few days and drink only water then this isn’t really a problem for you. If you are going to go on a juice fast, and will not be eating regular food, it is also not about the food. But on the Daniel Fast, sometimes this is a problem.

Quantity wise, you are just eating a regular meal, maybe even less than normal since you are fasting. It isn’t about heaping your plate and gorging yourself, that surely goes without saying. Some only have their three simple meals a day, others have a light snack in between. There are no rules! This is between you and God, but it should be a sacrifice and an offering unto the Lord.

The biggest problem I see with the popularity of The Daniel Fast is the overload of recipes made to imitate our regular diet. Yes, I even share recipes here on the site and in my Daniel Fast Devotional to help those who have never been on The Daniel Fast or maybe they are just at a loss as to what to fix every night. There is nothing wrong with variety or even enjoying your new way of eating. Some continue on with the Fast FOR LIFE and just have variation and creativity to stay the course.

But we should be careful in being mean constantly consumed with making sweets and treats and decadent concoctions while we are on the Fast…that seems to miss the point, doesn’t it?

There are already many Daniel Fast cookbooks on the market and more coming every day. It is easy to get carried away with trying to make all of your meals copycats of your normal foods. Be careful that it doesn’t become a recipe club! Naturally, you will be trying some new things and looking at ways to fix your meals differently, but it should be simple because it is a Fast.

Keep reminding yourself that this is a time to draw near to your Lord, not, “Can I HAVE this?” and, “Am I ALLOWED that?” You are fasting, not continually looking for ways to make your new foods taste like your regular diet.

Fasting is a time for self-denial, not self-indulgence and pleasure.

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Remember, if you are just fasting and not praying, you are wasting your time. Yes, you might lose a little weight, but if you are doing it for that purpose you are missing the point.

If you are prone to cheating, it is good to clean out your pantry of anything that would tempt you before you begin. The women of Israel got rid of anything with leaven (yeast) in it when they were preparing for the Passover, and many still do it today. If that is helpful to you, do it! There are probably many things in our cupboards that we do not need.

And finally, 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.

Be blessed as you fast unto the Lord! Feel free to share with us your thoughts today, we would love to hear from you and it may encourage someone else.

Don’t forget to get your copy of The Daniel Fast Devotional! Great for ANY FAST, it will be your go-to tool for years to come. Already have one in Kindle or paperback? Would you take a couple of minutes to leave a review for me on Amazon? It would be so appreciated! Blessings to you as you fast unto the Lord.

The Daniel Fast: Face to Face with God

“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Exodus 33:11 KJV.

“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” Exodus 34:5-7 KJV.

Poor Moses. He couldn’t leave his congregation for any matter of time before they were breaking all the rules.

As soon as they would get themselves in trouble, the Lord would want to punish them, or even wipe them off the planet, and Moses would “stand in the gap”, intercede and literally beg for God to give them another chance.

So, there he was on the Mount a second time, he had already broken the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments the first time God had handwritten them. He was back up there alone. Joshua is waiting a few hundred feet down the mountain and Aaron is in charge back at home.

“And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” Exodus 34:28 KJV.

Forty days and forty nights!

The results of the fast showed the effects it was having on Moses. “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.” Exodus 34:29 KJV.

What do I look like after I have been with God?

What do people see after I have spent time with the Savior?

Is there a difference in me; is there a light on my face from the glory of God?

Should there be?

Shouldn’t there be something about us that will draw others and point them to Christ?

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And if it isn’t the fact that we have been in HIS PRESENCE, then what is it?

Fasting, praying and spending time in His Word is what will continually build a relationship with the Savior and will radiate His glory.

They will also notice it if we DON’T do it.

We might not actually see God face to face, but we can spend time with Him every day, in His glory, in His presence. We can have the spirit of God dwelling with us, IN US, ALIVE!

Let us be like Moses. Fasting and praying on a regular basis is definitely good Christian character-building.

We can give back by giving our lives as a sacrifice, wholly consecrated and fully devoted, reaching for the lost and living full of joy and hope; watching for His return.