Fasting under the Palm Tree - Day 2

Please forgive the delay in writing... so much has happened that needs prayer that I have not had much prayer time to devote to these posts.

Decisions have been made by the parent denomination of our church that require much prayer and discernment. I will not use this space as a political platform, but please pray for the ELCA, the congregations that are affiliated with it and the individual church members in each of those congregations.

My husband had business in Dallas, and we were blessed to worship with friends there. Richard is the pastor of a wonderful, Spirit-filled, God-following church. We were truly inspired by the worship. It began our week away in such a glorious manner. It reminded us of things we were neglecting in our worhip life. And the week away, with much free time for me to read and write and pray, allowed me time to ponder those issues and make decisions to change. Thus far I have been able to apply most of them (opportunities for some have not yet arisen) and God continues to remind me of those decisions.

Now I come to the present: the Daniel Fast. This has mostly been impressed on my heart by the decisions that will need to be made in our congregation in the very near future. God placed it on my heart to fast and pray for the church council, the pastors, and the individual congregation members - that they will seek God's wisdom and guidance in the days and weeks to come, and then follow His leading. I need to do the same for myself. And there are other issues in my life that need some examining and prayer as well.

I have decided on the 10-day Daniel Fast because it is based on Daniel's decision (See Daniel 1) not to eat the foods of the King. Please pray for me and the others who have decided to join me in this fast. We began on Friday September 4th and will end on Sunday September 13th.

We are using the guidelines for this fast as they are given in the book Fasting to a Spirititual Breakthrough (author Towns). It is not a strict fast, and can be adapted to many health issues and personal requirements. A true Daniel Fast is just vegetables and water but this allows that vegetables really referred to vegetation and includes fruit and grains. Those who follow the fast can be as strict or inclusive as they wish as long as they follow the basics and make the decision before they start. In other words, make a decision that one will eat only vegetables and drink only water, OR make the decision to allow grains and fruits and nuts and seeds.

In the past I have followed the stricter fast. This time I am following the more inclusive fast, allowing for fruits and seeds and nuts. Limited grains as well (oatmeal and rice).

Praying and reading God's word are the focus of a fast. Using whole, fresh vegetables and fruits allows me to grab something and then spend the time in prayer and reading and meditation that would have been spent preparing foods.

Is a fast for you? Do you feel called to fast about a concern? First pray about whether you should fast. Pray about what type of fast would work for you. Research fasting (there are full fasts where you drink only water for the duration; partial fasts like the Daniel Fast where you follow specific guidelines; 24-hour fasts and longer fasts). The important thing to remember is that fasting always regards food - giving up TV or playing cards is a great way to spend more time in God's Word and in prayer, but it is not a fast.

Please let me know if you decide to fast - I will pray for you (this is a great help: ask others to pray for you while you fast. If it is a corporate issue such as our church concern, ask a small group of others to join you and then ask those who cannot fast with you to pray for you those days).

I am planning to update this post daily with at least something regarding this fast. Hope to talk to you again tomorrow.