Tag Archives: Fasting

Fasting together: He will deliver you

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Fasting together: He will deliver you.  You can read any posts that you missed here. Be blessed!

Daniel the prophet wasn’t just pleasing to God, he stood out among his peers as well. Let’s see what others thought of him and why: “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him…” Daniel 6:3 KJV.

An excellent spirit was in him. He was loved, he was trusted, and he was preferred. Other translations say “…he proved himself more capable.”

The other administrators and officers were a little bit jealous and tried to find fault with him. They could find none. They decided they would try to trip him up concerning “…his God.”

They came up with a plan, and approached King Darius, asking him to make a declaration that if anyone prayed to someone, or something, other than the king for the next 30 days they would be thrown into the den of lions.

This did not keep Daniel from doing what he did every day: at the time of prayer he opened his window toward Jerusalem and he prayed, three times a day, just as he had always done before the decree.

Immediately the prayer police went running to King Darius and reminded him of the decree and informed him that one certain Daniel-the-Prophet was breaking the rules.

The king was extremely upset because he was so fond of Daniel, yet he had no choice but to follow through with the consequences because rules are rules and he was the king.

As soon as they put Daniel into the den of lions, the king’s faith went into action, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”

What a great example of faith from a man who didn’t even know the God of Daniel. He believed in Daniel and so he believed in his God.

They sealed the den with a stone, the king put his seal on it and he headed back to his palace where he fasted all night long. He didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep and he did not listen to music!

See the variation of fasts? No food, no sleep and no entertainment.

The next morning he ran to the den and called for Daniel, “Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”

“My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” Daniel 6:20-22 KJV.

Delivered.

Saved.

Rescued by Almighty God.

Intercession was made for Daniel by a friend. Fasting and an all-night prayer meeting by the king and David’s life was spared.

Is there power in fasting and prayer? The answer is a resounding, “YES!”

Day after day we are finding more and more wonderful stories in the Bible, true stories of encouragement and real testimonies of how God used ordinary people to change history.

Who do you know today that needs deliverance in their life? Who do you know that is in need of meeting the Savior? You are the hands and feet of Jesus, allow Him to use you for His glory and become an intercessor for souls.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of The Daniel Fast Devotional! Good for any fast, it is a great, easy read with devotions for every day of a three week fast. Get yours on Amazon here!

Blessings to you on your journey while denying your flesh and drawing closer to God. You will see revival in your church, your family and your world!

Fasting together: The right way for us

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Fasting together: The right way for us. Moving right along! You can catch up here.

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Ezra. Some thought he had nothing to say. He was one of those who did so much for his present world but yet his mind was clearly on the one to come!

The seventh chapter of the book bearing his name tells us right away what kind of man he was: “This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him.” Ezra 7:6 KJV.

Ezra’s lineage was traced all the way back to Aaron, the brother of Moses. He was a teacher, a soper, translated as a scribe, a writer, recorder or secretary.  It also meant that he could obviously read and write; he was a learned man who could teach what he read in the Law of God.

He had favor with the pagan ruler, King Artaxerxes, and the king was willing to grant him whatever was requested of him.

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
    • 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 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 because he had already told the king that the hand of God was on them. Now he had to act on that faith and prove that this was the right way for them.

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 the right way.

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

I have written a devotional for The Daniel Fast, (or ANY FAST)!! It has 21 days of devotions for each day of the three week fast and three days of preparation devotions explaining fasting, why we fast and why The Daniel Fast. Check it out on Amazon!

Fasting together: Keeping mercy for thousands

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Praying that you are being strengthened in your fasting and praying. Don’t forget to spend time in the Word! Fasting opens your eyes and understanding so you can see more clearly and hear HIS voice. You can read any posts you have missed this month here.

“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.

The children of Israel kept Moses busy, very busy. Continually breaking the rules, Jehovah would want justice and Moses would “stand in the gap”, intercede and literally beg for God to give them another chance. And as we see in the above verse, the LORD was continually forgiving, “keeping mercy for thousands…”

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 was waiting a few hundred feet down the mountain and Aaron was 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!

No bread. No water. This isn’t a Daniel Fast. Many might ask, “Did Moses really feel the effects of the fast since he was with God?” We do know when Jesus fasted that the Bible says afterward, that He was hungry. Moses was human so he surely was hungry as well.

The results of the fast showed the effect 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.

His face was shining with the glory of God! Maybe it was not just the result of seeing God because the Bible says that the nobles and the elders also saw God in some form or fashion when they all first went up on the Mount. (Exodus 24:9-11). But Moses had been fasting, denying his flesh and his focus was God and God alone. 

The people could not even stand to look at Moses because of the glory of God, and as a result, He had to keep a veil on his face when he spoke to the people. He could only take it off when he went into the temple to minister to the Lord. “When Moses finished speaking with them, he covered his face with a veil.” Exodus 34:33 NLT.

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

What do others see after we have spent time with the Savior?

Is there a difference?

Is there a light on our faces of the glory of God?

Should there be?

Yet again, shouldn’t there be something about us that will draw others to us and point them to Christ?

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, the Holy Spirit, dwelling IN us, with 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, keeping mercy for thousands, and living full of joy and hope and watching for His return.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of The Daniel Fast Devotional! Good for any fast, it is a great, simple read with devotions for every day of a three week fast. Get yours on Amazon here!