DANIEL FAST – FOOD LIST
FOODS TO HAVE:
FRUITS: (All Fruits -Canned, Fresh, Frozen or Dried)
For example: Apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, breadfruit, cantaloupe, cherries, coconuts, cranberries, dates, figs, grapefruit, grapes, grenadine, guava, honeydew melons, kiwi, lemons, limes, mangoes, melons, mulberry, nectarines, oats, olives, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapples, plums, prunes, raisins, raspberries, strawberries, tangelos, tangerines, watermelon, etc.
VEGETABLES: (All Vegetables -Canned, Fresh, Frozen or Dried)
For example: Artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, brussells, sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chili peppers, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, gingerroot, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, parsley, any peppers, any potatoes, radishes, rutabagas, scallions, spinach, sprouts, squashes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, yams, plantain, zucchini, etc.
WHOLE GRAINS: (Canned, Fresh, Frozen or Dried)
Brown rice, oats, rolled oats, oatmeal, barley, corn, popcorn, wheat
Legumes: dried beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils, black eyed peas, green beans, green peas, peanuts, kidney beans, cannellini beans, black beans, etc. Grain legumes include beans, lentils, peas and peanuts.
SEEDS:
All nuts, natural peanut butter, natural almond butter, sprouts, ground flax, etc.
LIQUIDS:
Spring water, distilled water, filtered water, 100% all natural fruit or vegetable juices
OILS:
All quality oils including olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, grape seed oil, peanut oil, palm oil an sesame oil
OTHER:
Tofu, soy products, vinegar, natural seasonings, salt, herbs, and spices.
FOODS TO AVOID:
- All Meat and Animal Products,
- All Dairy Products
- All sweeteners
- All Leven bread (including Ezekiel Bread)
- All refined and processed foods
- All Deep Fried Foods
- All Solid Fats
- All Coffee, Tea, Herbal Teas, Carbonated Beverages, Energy Drinks, Etc. (some natural herbal teas are ok. Use your discretion).
Remember, READ THE LABELS so you know the ingredients included in any prepared food.
HEALTH CONCERNS
If you have any health concerns or are pregnant, please consult with your physician for advice before starting any fast.
The Power of Prayer & Fasting
By Mike Prah
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.” Joel 2:15
WHAT IS FASTING?
Biblical fasting is abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Simply going without food because it is not available or for medical reasons is not biblical fasting. There must be a spiritual motivation to qualify a fast as biblical. Fasting is disciplining your flesh by abstaining from natural pleasures for a selected period of time while focusing on a deeper relationship with God.
In his book “A Hunger for God,” John Piper writes, “Christian fasting, at its root, is the hunger of a homesickness for God to gain superior satisfaction in God. It is also a chosen weapon against every force in the world that would take that satisfaction away."
SOME BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
Jesus fasted to gain spiritual strength and acknowledge His dependence on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. He did this before He began His public ministry (Luke 4:1-2).
Nehemiah fasted for repentance and favor in the sight of the king to gain permission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4).
David fasted, asking God to intervene because of injustice (Psalm 35:13). In 2 Samuel 12:17-23, he fasted for healing and miraculous intervention.
Mordecai and the Jews fasted upon hearing the news of Haman’s wicked plot for their extermination (Esther 4:3).
The early church fasted while worshiping and committing their ministry to the Lord. They also sought the Lord through fasting for guidance and confirmation during the appointment of elders (Acts 13:2, 14:23).
Jesus expected His disciples to fast (Matthew 6:16).
PURPOSE OF FASTING: WHY FAST?
1. To get clear directions from God.
2. For spiritual growth in your life.
3. To break the curse of Satan and to defeat every opposition against your life and your generation.
4. To obtain personal breakthroughs in your health, finances, emotions, job, relations and every area of your life.
5. To see the supernatural hand of God released to experience uncommon miracles in your life and generation.
6. To cover your children under God's protection and provision in society.
7. Marriage enrichment.
8. To intercede for your family members & friends who need deliverance.
9. To intercede for your Church leaders, employers and government leaders to do God's will and be blessed by God.
One of the keys to personal renewal, fruitful recovery, and overall effectiveness in life is fasting with prayer. When the early Church in the Book of Acts wanted to see souls saved and lives changed, they fasted. When they wanted to minister to the needs of people with supernatural power and effectiveness, they fasted. When they needed miraculous provision, they fasted. In fact, whenever they faced personal or corporate challenges that required God’s intervention, they fasted, and God answered! And today, over 2,000 years later, fasting with prayer remains the key to uncommon breakthrough!
BENEFITS OF FASTING
– Fasting enables us to humble ourselves before God so that God can use us in dynamic ways (Psalm 38:13, Psalm 69:10, 2 Chronicles 7:14).
– Fasting is a means by which a believer brings his/her body into submission to God’s will (1 Corinthians 9:27).
– Fasting changes a person, not God. God is omnipotent and unchanging (Malachi 3:6).
– Fasting breaks down the barriers in a person's carnal nature that stand in the way of the Holy Spirit’s control over his/her life (Ephesians 3:20).
– Fasting intensifies prayer and enables the believer to become more effective in every area (physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, financially, vocationally) (Daniel 9:2, 3; Daniel 10:1-14).
- Fasting unleashes spiritual strength against an enemy attack (Mark 9:28-29 NKJV, Matthew 26:41 NIV).
– Fasting empowers the believer to obtain deliverance, spiritual breakthroughs, answered prayers and victory (Isaiah 58:6, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 15, 2 Chronicles 20:1-30).
– Fasting prepares the believer to receive a fresh outpouring of the Spirit and the blessings of God (Joel 2:12-29).
– Fasting has medical benefits and produces healing (Isaiah 58:8).
– Fasting will bring peace to our land (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
WRONG REASONS FOR FASTING
- To be seen by others (Matthew 6:18). Piper writes, “The critical issue is not whether people know you are fasting but whether you want them to know so that you can bask in their admiration.”
- To be justified by God. In a parable to people “confident of their own righteousness,” Jesus spoke of two men. One said, “I fast twice a week.” The other said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The latter “went home justified before God" (Luke 18:9-14 NIV)
- To be commended by God. Food will not commend us to God; we are neither better if we do, nor worse if we don't eat (1 Cor. 8:8 NIV). Fasting does not cause us to “earn” something from God, but it helps us to be more receptive to what He wants to do in and through us to accomplish His awesome purposes for our life.
FASTING: HELPFUL HINTS
1. Focus on the Word of God and increase prayer devotions during a fast. Select from a list of several Daily Bible Reading and Devotional Plans from our Church Website (see section below) to guide your reading of God’s Word. Daily Prayers are also available from the sections below.
2. Fasting will increase your faith and your relationship with God.
3. During a fast, prayers must be specific. It is wise to keep a journal of your prayers and how God answers them.
4. Avoid eating a large meal before you begin to fast. This will make you even hungrier when you start your fast. Continue to eat fruit and vegetables before for at least three days before you begin to fast.
5. Drink lots of water and fluids: bottled, distilled, or purified preferably at room temperature. Do not drink tap water.
6. The first few beginning few days will be the hardest days of the fast, afterwards each day actually gets easier as you pray and press your way into God.
7. Fasting strengthens your inner will. You will not starve to death by fasting. Fast until God has dealt with you or you feel a release.
8. Fasting will not impair your health; however, consult with your physician if you have any concerns. It is not recommended that a pregnant woman should fast.
9. Limit (or perhaps eliminate) your indulgence in one or more of your usual pleasure practices (i.e. TV, a favorite hobby or sport, etc.) during the 40 fasting period.
10. The victory often comes after the fast is over.
11. Wisdom should be used when breaking a fast. Do not eat food like meats that are hard to digest when breaking a fast. Eat fruits or vegetables and drink plenty of water before, during and after fasting.
HEALTH CONCERNS
If you have any health concerns or are pregnant, please consult with your physician for advice before starting any fast.
PRAY FOR YOUR LOCAL CHURCH DURING YOUR FAST AS FOLLOWS:
1. Pray that the church would be built after God’s pattern and that God would be glorified and the name of Christ be exalted in all things (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Exodus 25:8-9, Matthew 16: 17-19, Ephesians 2:18-22).
2. Pray that the church would grow in all dimensions:
- Stronger through Worship
- Deeper through Discipleship
- Larger through Evangelism
- Broader through Service
- Warmer through Fellowship
(Ephesians 4: 7-16, Acts 2:41-47, Acts 4: 31-35)
3. Pray that God’s Spirit and power would fill the church (Ephesians 3:16-19).
4. Pray that God would destroy every satanic attack and calculation designed to hinder the growth, progress, advancement and establishment of the church (Matthew 16:18, Acts 12:1-10, 2 Corinthians 2:11).
5. Pray that God would destroy and arrest the operations of the spirits of strife, contentions, envy, jealousy, backbiting, criticism, undermining, sabotage and every form of carnality that hinders the work of God (Galatians 5:13-26, James 3:10-18).
6. Pray that God would release a spirit of unity and team work, in the lives of the people of God (Nehemiah 4:15-21, Ephesians 4:16).
7. Pray that the Church would faithfully show love to a hurting world in His Name (John 13:35).
8. Pray that all members of the church would discover their divine calling and ministries and would be fruitful in utilizing their gifts for the benefit of others, to the glory of God (Romans 12:3-8, 1Corinthians 12: 4-31).
9. Pray and release every human, financial and material resource that heaven has ordained for the advancement of the Church (Psalm 118:25, Philippians 4:19).
10. Pray that God would supernaturally empower His church financially so that the church can meet all its financial obligations without struggle (Psalm 34;10, 2 Corinthians 12:9).
11. Pray that every department of the church would be functional, efficient and effective and that all the needs of the people of God would be met ( 2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 4:19).
12. Pray for the leaders of every church, that their hearts, minds, motives, and actions are directed towards Christ (Galatians 6:9, 2 Timothy 2:15, Hebrews 13:7).
13. Pray for the church to have a love for God’s Word and to walk in His wisdom, humility, and strength (2 Chronicles 7:14).
14. Pray for revival and the activation of every spiritual gift in the lives of the people of God. Pray that this revival would cause a massive in-gathering of souls into the kingdom of God. (2 Timothy 1:6).
15. Pray that God would bless His church tremendously in all dimensions, and stir us up to Godly action for the advancement of the Kingdom of God (Ephesians 6:18).
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Heavenly Father, today I consecrate myself to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I receive fresh oil from Your presence to empower me to be effective in these days of fasting and prayer.
I declare that I shall not be distracted by any device of the enemy but I shall come to a place of deliverance, breakthroughs and victory in every dimension of my life.
I receive supernatural strength from the Holy Spirit to rise above the cravings of my human nature. I declare that in the midst of this fast I would receive power and divine directions from the presence of God that would positively affect my destiny.
Thank you, Lord for my season of breakthroughs and Double Portion anointing. I receive every blessing and miracle that You have ordained for me, in Jesus mighty name, Amen!
DAILY DEVOTIONALS
Our Daily Bread
Grace To You Daily Devotions & Bible Reading Plan
My Utmost For His Highest
Max Lucado Devotions
Billy Graham Devotions
BIBLE READING PLANS
You can read or listen to the Bible readings for each day. Look for the speaker icon under the scripture listing.
New Testament in a Year
Read the New Testament from start to finish, from Matthew to Revelation.
Old/New Testament
Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament to enable you read through the Bible in a year.
M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The classic M'Cheyne plan--read the Old Testament, New Testament, and Psalms or Gospels every day to enable you read through the Bible in a year. This plan is Recommended by FavorLife Church
Proverbs Monthly
Read through the book of Proverbs every month of the year.
Verse of the Day
A daily inspirational and encouraging Bible verse.
Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God
40 daily Scripture readings that illustrate the character of God and the nature of faith.
21 Day Daniel Fast Plan
Bible Reading Plan suitable for 21 Day consecration
Readings for Celebrating Advent and Christmas
Scripture passages that focus on the meaning of Advent and Christmas.
Readings for Lent and Easter
Short readings from throughout the Bible that focus on the meaning and events of Easter.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR BIBLE READING DEVOTIONS
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
- Bible App from YouVersion loaded to your Smart Phone or Tablet. This is preferable since it’s convenient to carry with you everywhere, anytime. (Download the free YouVersion Bible App from the link below, if you don't have it*).
- Our Favorlife Church website homepage provides resources to several Daily Bible Reading plans with the ability to read or listen to Scriptures.
- A modern English translation such as New International Version (NIV), New King James Version (NKJV), New Living Translation (NLT), English Standard Version (ESV), and New American Standard Bible (NASB) is easy to understand.
HOW TO DO IT
- Read your selected passage. Perhaps reread it to get a better feel for it. Make sure you have a good grasp of the situation and context and the basic ideas in it.
- Begin walking through the questions below, asking them to yourself as you reread the passage.
Use the S.P.A.C.E.P.E.T.S. Method of Bible Study
In this Bible passage, look for …
Do I need to ask forgiveness of anyone or make any restitution?
Is it a universal promise? Have I met the condition(s)?
Am I willing to work on a negative attitude and begin building toward a positive one?
Am I willing to do it no matter how I feel?
Is it a positive example for me to copy or a negative one to avoid?
Is there anything I need to pray back to God?
Is there any problem that I should be alert to, or beware of?
What new things can I learn about God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, or the other biblical teachings?
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Something to praise God for? Is there something here I can be thankful for?
Pray the Bible verse or passage back to God.
Put the Bible verse or passage into the first person singular, turn it into prayer, and pray it back to God
Tap below to download the free YouVersion Bible App if you don't have it
* Get the free Bible App here: (Apple Devices | Android Devices)
