Day 12 of the Daniel Fast. Over halfway!
So here’s a weird thing. Everyone said the first few days would be the hardest but I breezed right through those like my daughter used to breeze through toll booths in college (until she realized they send bills to her mother). I didn’t miss coffee, I couldn’t have cared less about sugar or flour or meat or fish or dairy. I was completely satisfied for 7 days.
Then week 2 happened and I wanted what I couldn’t have. I wanted pasta~ not whole wheat pasta, either. I wanted eggplant parmesan covered in cheese with a side of Gino’s pasta. 
I fantasized about cheesecake and I never order dessert at restaurants…unless I am treated to Bern’s, that is….but I’m hanging in there. I’m not starving. I’m just denying myself little things I don’t need. First world problems. What a bunch of whiners we people can be….
So that’s the physical part of it. The REAL focus of this fast is the spiritual component. Am I spending more time with God in prayer? Am I changing my prayers from a monologue to actually hearing from God? Am I resting in the peace that surpasses all understanding because I know God answers prayers? Do I know that my prayers reflect God’s will? Am I opening that bible on my nightstand more frequently? Well, let’s take a look at that as of day 12 on this 21 day fast.
YES, I am definitely spending more time with God. I literally wake up in the middle of the night virtually every night and feel a need to dialogue with Him. He already knows my prayer requests quite well and now I’m spending a lot of time sitting in silence so that I can make sure my prayers align with His best for me and His best for those I pray for. I have a great deal of peace in knowing that I’m aligned with what His word says and so I keep pressing in. This, I believe, is being a prayer warrior!
Am I resting in peace? In truth, most of the time I am successful in staying peaceful but I would be lying if I said I stay there 100% of the time. The flesh is a masterful reminder of how weak we are in our own strength. This piety journey is lifelong; I’m not likely to achieve even close to perfection but it’s a walk that keeps me as close to His image as I’m going to get while I’m roaming the earth. If you knew me when, you’d say that my ability to stay in peace is about 80% better than it used to be~ thank GOD.
And am I confident I’m praying for things in God’s will? Well, I’ve let doubt creep in about 75 times in the last year or so. Doubt creeps in when I look at what I can SEE and forget to focus on the unseen things God is doing behind the scenes. Focusing on what I can see is a waste of time~ I’m not all knowing. I’m not even all close-to-knowing!
So I’ve read what He says and I’m in complete peace that I should continue to stand firm because my prayers reflect God’s will. In short, I can’t know His will if I don’t know His word and have a relationship with Him. Yep, it really helps to know God and what He thinks and it’s all found in that amazing book we call the Bible. There’s not a question, circumstance or situation that He can’t help with if we’ll give Him the control and stop keeping the control all to ourselves.
I wrote on my hallway chalkboard the moment that 2015 was in the history books (not a minute too soon, frankly!) that 2016 is the year of restoration and blessings and IT IS. It’s His promise to me and I take His promises SUPER seriously. I’m going to be bold and just add this little photo below because if you call yourself a Christian and you don’t take His promises at His word, I think you may have a faith issue…. and, hey, I’ve been there! But I didn’t STAY there and neither should you. Believe He will do what He says He will do.
God is on OUR side! We can make it really tough or we can make it really easy but, ultimately, He’s got our back and so why would we live like what He says isn’t true?
Okay. Yes. This spiritual fast has been confirming and enlightening and it’s taken sacrifice of time and some toxic foods….. and it’s been well worth it.
For the record, I will be eating eggplant parmesan on February 1st (at the completion of my fast) and probably washing it down with a sweet glass of Pinot Noir and God has zero problem with that.
See you tomorrow.
Amy