"The City" 21 - Day Daniel Fast
2 January - 22 January 2011
"What is a Daniel fast?"
The concept of a Daniel fast comes from Daniel 1:8-14, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.”
The background of the “Daniel fast” is that Daniel and his three friends had been “deported” to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians had conquered Judah (2 Kings 24:13-14). Daniel and his three friends were put into the Babylonian court servant “training program.” Part of the program was learning Babylonian customs, beliefs, laws, and practices. The eating habits of the Babylonians were not in complete agreement with the Mosaic law. As a result, Daniel asked if he and his three friends could be excused from eating the meat (which was likely sacrificed to Babylonian false gods and idols).
So, a Daniel fast is eating only fruits and vegetables for a certain amount of time, abstaining from meat products. Some people use a Daniel fast as a dieting method. Some people use a Daniel fast instead of fasting from food entirely. The Bible nowhere commands believers to observe a Daniel fast. As a result, it is a matter of Christian freedom whether to observe a Daniel fast.
The following is a list of food guidelines: (Do not treat this as law.)
Whole Grains : Barley, brown rice, oats
Beans/Legumes : Red beans, black beans, dried beans, long beans, french beans, pinto beans, split peas, black eyed peas, lentils.
Vegetables : Asparagus, artichokes, brinjals, broccoli, beets, bean sprouts, carrots, cabbage, celery, cauliflower, chili peppers, cucumbers, corn, cactus, eggplant, ginger root, garlic, kale, lettuce, leeks, mustard greens, mushrooms, onions, okra, potatoes, pickles, parsley, rutabagas, radishes, spinach, sprouts, scallions, sweet potatoes, squashes, turnips, tomatoes, water chestnut, yams, zucchini.
Fruits : apricots, apples, black berries, blue berries, boysenberries, bananas, cherries, cranberries, cantelope, dragon fruit, durian, figs, grapes, grapefruit, guava, honeydew melons, kiwi, lychee, lime, lemons, mangosteen, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, papayas, plums, prunes, rasberries, rambutan, raisins, strawberries, tangerines, tangeloes, watermelon.
Nuts and Seeds
Liquid : Distilled water, spring water, 100% natural fruit or vegetable juice
Food to Avoid in Daniel Fast recipes :
(Again, do not treat them as laws, if you have taken by accident, do not feel condemned, or you will not benefit from this fast)
Carbonated soft drinks
Milk
Cheese
Meat
White rice
Fried food
Refined sugar
Sugar substitutes
Food containing preservatives or additives
White flour and food made by it
Butter, margerine and high fat products
More Daniel Fast Info & Recipes