21-day Daniel Fast

ByLife in Our Corner

A few weeks ago, I shared on my personal IG stories that I’ll be doing a 21-day Daniel Fast and invited others to join, so many of you are excited to do the fast together. I decided to write a detailed post on the fast so it’s available to all, covering the questions you may have.

What is a Daniel’s Fast?

This fast is incredible yet so unique! It’s a 21-day denial to flesh in restricting the things we eat. A FULL FAST is removing food entirely from your diet; a Daniel Fast is restricting enjoyable foods.

Where Does the Idea Come From?

Dan 10:2-3 I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks at that time. I ate no choice of food; no meat or wine touched my lips.

This “fast” comes from the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament. Though we don’t know exactly what he ate and didn’t eat, it’s easy to guess what was and wasn’t on the menu, what is considered “choice food”.

New Bible: If you are looking for a new Bible, I LOVE my Journaling Bible; it has a space for notes.

How to Prepare for the Fast:

  1. Set a goal – Set a plan for your fast! You want to set a spiritual purpose and a prayer request. So, we put in a main request and a few secondary requests. Have these goals visible so you are in constant prayer over them.
  2. Expect God to show up – We come in faith that God will show up and change things! We walk in FAITH!
  3. Pray – Though we will pray together daily for different things, start praying and preparing your heart to meet the Lord. 
  4. Journal – I HIGHLY recommend you purchase a prayer and fasting journal to track your journey during these two weeks, the things you learned, and what God is teaching you. Here are a few journal ideas: 
  5. Prep your kitchen – We will discuss this in the 2nd post.

When to Start and End?

We will start at midnight the night before the fast and break the fast with dinner on the 21st day. (This year, we are doing January 8th through January 28th. So we will start fast at midnight from the 7th to the 8th and break on the 28th at dinnertime.)

•Personal tip: If you want to end with a light meal, don’t go crazy and eat everything in sight. 

Will I lose weight?

You will lose weight! Though that is NOT and SHOULD NOT be our motive, I highly recommend you weigh yourself on the day before the fast starts and then on the last day. 

•Personal tip: Do not weigh yourself during the fast; we don’t want to distract ourselves from the fast. 

What FOOD is and isn’t Allowed? 

We are doing part 2 of this post, and it will answer all questions about food! 

What if I Have a Physical Job?

In God’s original design of our bodies, we were not created to eat meat; I know this may shock some. God allowed humans to consume meat after the flood in Gen 9:3. So your body will do just fine without the meat, sugars, and good things our flesh craves.

However, if you cannot handle it, pray and see what the Holy Spirit will allow. A few friends whose husbands work in construction added seafood or chicken to their dinner for protein. This is between you and the Lord. Though no longer a full Daniel Fast, it is much better than nothing.

•Personal tip: My husband, who doesn’t know how to enjoy any meal without meat, did the fast with me last year and did just fine. I highly recommend you just try the fast. Jesus becomes our supernatural strength.

What about Physical Intimacy with Spouse:

This is a personal decision between you and your spouse! 

  • Some decide to entirely refrain from intimacy for the entire time (I do not recommend this if your husband is not in agreement.)
  • Others only take a few days from this, then come together again. (Examples: 3, 5, 7 days)
  • Yet others don’t refrain; this is a decision you and your spouse must make in agreement.
  • Personal conviction: I strongly suggest you refrain from intimacy for at least a few days. 

Can I exercise?

Yes, you can continue to exercise as before; just drink lots of water.

Testimonies:

  • Physical- There are so many testimonies of healing during the fast. Many people’s organisms were healed from different illnesses during the fast. Imbalance in the body, hormones restored, diabetes gone, cholesterol gone, and so on.
  • Spiritual- Many testify to breakthroughs in their spiritual walk. Some say they received a more profound revelation of who God is, and their walk was strengthened. Others say their spiritual gifting was activated — so many different testimonies.

Conclusion:

The point of the Daniel fast isn’t for you to get so caught up on what is and isn’t allowed and you push yourself into religion and legalism. DON’T DO THAT!

It’s okay if the fast looks personalized to your life. The intent of the fast is so your flesh is silenced and your spirit man becomes more alive. Each fast may look slightly different, and that is OKAY.

Fondly,

Tim & Valentina, Benjamin, Joseph, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Abigail, Elijah and Seraphima

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147 Comments

    1. Natalya, this is wonderful. I will send you a link to your email on Wednesday!

    2. Our church leaders and other member of our church are doing the 21 day Daniel’s fast and with the ability to prolong in for up to 40 days for those who want to go longer.

        1. Praise the Lord, Beatrice. I’ve emailed you with a link to the group.

    1. I’m so excited you will be joining us, Tatyana. I’ll send you a link on Wed. 🙂

    1. Praise God, this is so exciting – I’ll email you a link to the group.

    1. I’m so excited you will be joining the fast! I’ll send you a link.

    1. Wonderful, Andrea – thanks so much for linking hands and doing this together!

    1. I’ll send you the link to the group – so excited to see what God will do.

    1. I’m so excited for you to be a part of this journey. A link will be sent to you.

    1. Wonderful, so excited for what the Lord is going to do during the fast.

    1. I’ll send you a link, looking forward to doing this together. 🙂

  17. I would like to join the daniel fast. Is there a more in depth information on how to be successful

    1. Isaiah, feel free to do this fast on your own. We completed it together back in January. We will do it again next January. 🙂

    1. We finished this year’s fast. We will do it again next year in January. 🙂

    1. Maike, you can do one any time of the year. We will do another one next January. 🙂

    1. Marisa, I’ve emailed you with the link. Looking forward to seeking the Lord together.

    1. Janelle, I’ve emailed you a link to the group. This will be a lovely time together.

    1. I’ve emailed you a link to the group, this will be such a wonderful time.

    1. Lyudmila, I emailed you a link to the group. 🙂 Looking forward to having you join us.

  40. I’m so thankful for all the thoughts to do with Daniel Fasting and I’m glad to join on Daniel Fasting 8th January to 28th!

    1. Diane, I’ve emailed you the link, looking forward to having you join. It will be wonderful.

    1. Bosco, it would be wonderful to have you join our group, I emailed you a link.

  47. I do not see the link in my email – what is the name of the link? Hopefully I am able to recover the link. Thank you kndly.

    1. I’ve emailed you, Ginequa. Looking forward to seeking the Lord together.

  56. Good Afternoon – is this for January 2025, if so I would like to join if it’s not to late.

    1. I’ve emailed you a link to the group, Tasha. Looking forward to having you join us.

    1. Leticia, looking forward to having you a part of the community. I emailed you the link.

    1. The fast is done for this year – we did it in January. 🙂

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