Tag Archives: The Daniel Fast

The Daniel Fast: What if my prayer isn’t answered?

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The Daniel Fast: What if my prayer isn’t answered? How are you doing on your fast? If you have already started your fasting, whether it is a complete fast, a partial fast, juice fast, Daniel Fast, no matter what you have chosen, you have probably already encountered a bump or two in the road. Do not despair! Just keep going, start over, whatever you have to do. God isn’t sitting in Heaven with a ruler in His hand ready to smack you every time you make a mistake. Just determine to stick with it and remember to pray; that is where your strength comes from.

Today, we are talking about what to do when you fast, you pray, you petition God but He doesn’t answer your prayer the way you had envisioned. (Catch up on missed posts here!)

In the 11th and 12th chapters of 2 Samuel, we read the shocking and heartbreaking story of David and Bathsheba. If you aren’t familiar with the story, you can read about it here. The shortened, condensed version is that David had an affair with another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and had her husband killed. He then took Bathsheba as his own wife and that is where we enter the story with Nathan, the prophet, confronting David about his sin:

“Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’’” 2 Samuel 12:7-10 ESV.

King David acknowledged his guilt and Nathan goes on to tell him his sin has been “put away” but the child born out of the sin will die.

What does David do next?

“And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick.  David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.” 2 Samuel 12:16-17 ESV.

David was a man of war, a mighty man of valor but he was also repentant and always readily admitted his sin. He was humble and petitioned for the life of his son even though this child would be a continual reminder of his sin! He knew HE was the reason for the Lord’s displeasure and so he humbled himself with prayer and fasting in the hope that the Lord might change His mind. And, surely, he even felt it was his DUTY to petition on behalf of his son.

David fasted until the seventh day but the baby died.

“Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

The members of David’s household were confused and told him so. David replied that he was hoping the Lord would be gracious, that He would spare the child’s life, yet it was not to be. There was no need to fast once he was gone. Matthew Henry’s commentary says it so well here:

matthew-henry

“Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped…” David worshiped the Lord because He knew that God had spoken, He had answered and He was sovereign. If God does not answer your prayer the way you think it should be answered, and you even accompany that prayer with fasting, it doesn’t mean your fasting was in vain! Remember, we talked about the fact that fasting changes that inner man, it changes YOU (and me!). David knew life was to go on; he had repented, he had prayed, he had fasted and God had answered. Yes, he had sinned but he had found forgiveness and restoration through his repentance and humility.

He fasted and prayed because there was still life and when that life was gone he knew to worship God.

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Job 1:21 NIV.

Obviously, in this post, we are looking at David’s mistake, his sin that cost him, big time. But your prayer may not have anything to do with your actions. But yet, God’s answer is not what you wanted to hear.

Fasting prepares your heart for God’s answer, no matter what it might be. We may not get the answer we want but we can rest assured God is working all things for our good. If He says, “No”, we can trust Him that He knows what is best, He can see down the road! Remember, we don’t fast to change God, we fast to change US; to make us more like Jesus and cleanse us from things that would hold us back or cause us to stumble.

Fasting brings hidden things to light! And while fasting and praying, God can reveal things to us that may be a hindrance in our walk. Because we are fasting, our mind becomes more clear and nothing is in the way of our hearing His voice.

So be encouraged today, if your prayer isn’t answered the way you preferred, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you, in fact it means HE DOES LOVE YOU, He is protecting you, covering you, leading you and He knows that His answer is the best answer. And you will too, one day soon.

Be blessed as you continue to make fasting a regular part of your spiritual walk.

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!

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: Our eyes are on You

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“Fasting is abstaining from anything that hinders prayer.” ~ Andrew Bonar

Learning about another great man of faith in the Bible who turned to fasting and prayer. Catch up on our previous posts here.

Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was about to be attacked by the Moabites and the Ammonites. “Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi).” 2 Chronicles 20:2 ESV.

Jehoshaphat did what any smart man of God would have done; any king that knew of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would call a fast! Not just any fast, but all of Judah came together to pray and seek their God for His help. “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” 

Did you notice the repetition of the word seek? Jehoshaphat was known as a king who “sought the God of his father.” Seek, in the Hebrew, means “to trample under foot,” or even interpreted that you go there so often you have made a path in the dirt!

The king’s prayer is interesting in that he doesn’t mention the problem that he is facing in the first four verses, he mentions GOD. And even when he gets to the problem, his focus is still on the One who can fix it.  “O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV.

That focus soon pays off because suddenly, the spirit of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel, a Levite, and he says, “…Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s…Tomorrow go ye down against them…and ye shall find them at the end of the brook…Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 KJV.

What an answer to prayer!

What power!

What authority!

The next morning they got up early and headed into the wilderness and King Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV.

I love what he does next. He appointed singers, “…unto the LORD, just to praise the beauty of holiness, and as they went out before the army, just to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” Wow!

They took time to praise the LORD in the MIDDLE of the battle!

God had told them that it was HIS battle and they took Him at His Word.

When they began to sing and praise, then the LORD began to act. The Bible says He set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites and Mount Seir and they were all smitten!

The children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, trying to destroy them. So when they had accomplished that then they destroyed one another.

When Judah showed up at the watch tower in the wilderness they looked out at the multitude and all they could see were the dead, “none escaped.”

“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they head heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.”

God had delivered His people once again because they turned to Him in fasting and prayer, believed and trusted in Him.

What can you believe God for today? What are you needing an answer for in your life? What battles are you trying to fight on your own?

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

He is your VICTORIOUS WARRIOR and this is HIS BATTLE, not yours, Let Him take care of it for you. Trust Him, put your confidence in Him and then do what King Jehoshaphat and his people did…

Worship and give Him praise for the victory that is coming! Whether you see it today or tomorrow doesn’t matter. He is in control and His timing is perfect. Trust Him for the victory and then rest in His promises.

Our eyes are on YOU, Lord!

The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, is a great tool for ANY fast that you choose as a sacrifice to the Lord. 21 days of devotions and recipes too. Available in eBook or paperback!