Daniel fast

[TheSippyCupSociety]

Have you tried the Daniel fast? if so what were your favourite meals?

I have just completed it and I’m suprised to say I loved it. I had so much more energy and felt a lot happier. I have now changed a lot of my eating habits to be more inline with this as a lifestyle

What is that please?

Never heard of it, but just having used our friend 'Google' for a brief overview my only observation is that under the new Covenant, no foods are forbidden to us. But more, the red flag, for me, was to see it advocated by Seventh-day Adventist. It's either plain old fasting, or it's not. If we are eating, even if from a restrictive diet, we are not fasting. It could, more accurately, be called 'vegetarian diet'. What is your particular 'flavour' of church, @TheSippyCupSociety and is it promoted by them?

My immediate thought was it was aimed at lions not eating Christians.

I’ve heard people talk about this before- based on Daniel 2 v 8-16.
“no meat, no sweet and no drink”

I think it’s basically a veggie and water diet.
I wouldn’t have called it a fast personally and I don’t think Daniel or his chums would have either but I have heard it referred to in that way as a kind of shorthand, I suppose.

Sorry- typo Daniel 1.

😆🤣

I don't do meat or drink anyway ( not for any faith based reasons) so I'm two thirds of a Daniel to start with.

😆😆 well I'm quite a fan of that one!

Does that mean you're a Dani... 😊

Daniel diet is called the white diet and it is done to shown a commitment to God perhaps when encountering the spiritual also..
Here is some information on white fasting and it involves white fasting and prayer. This is used sometimes in the life of prophets when getting the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

mountgilgalprayerline.com/wp-content/themes/mtgilgal/pdf/Procedure-for-White-Fasting.pdf

I’ve never heard the terms “white fasting” or “white diet” before. Or of any circumstances in which such eating patterns would be considered appropriate, barring of course those specific to Daniel and his companions as recorded in scripture.

I’ve always understood fasting to mean abstaining from food.

Nor have I. Although I have heard of (and have done) a fast from other things like social media. This Daniel fast seems a bit like adding an extra level of rules.

Our Lord made His commands regarding fasting very clear, see Matthew 6: 16-18

Personally I’m not interested in adding to that.

By the way, He said when you fast, not if. He expects fasting to be a normal part of His followers’ lives. Fasting is linked to prayer, particularly in deliverance ministry.

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

☝This ☝ Edited to add, as in the previous post and NOT the stupid advert that appeared!

Amen.

White fasting is used frequently in Charismatic/Spiritual church's and it allows the member to get different levels of nutrition but not complete sacrifice as well, but some denial is being made. I have experienced it in my journey. They may break it to like say at 6pm and pray every four hours say during that day. They will eliminate often red meat and pork to.

I'm in a charismatic church. Have been in several for about 40 years. I've honestly never come across a white / Daniel fast. Apart from copying what he ate at a specific time for a specific reason, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything spiritual or actually properly fasting.

I think the point of a fast is that you deny yourself so that you're reminded that your real hunger needs to be for God and that we are reliant on him.

ChristmasStars I have no idea the church you go to but the Celestial Church of Christ do white fasting and other Church's may be also. You see it mentioned recently in this instagram post by the Celestial church of Christ.
https://www.instagram.com/holycrossamerica/p/DAdop20xGwo/?imgindex=1

I really don't want to be divisive on here but I just looked up the church you mentioned @Justmerach and they are not exactly mainstream. They're on a cult watch in some countries and have some very specific rules (menstruating women and new mums being unclean) so I'm not sure I'll be taking them as an example.

Of course if people fancy doing a white fast and find it helps them that's great. I'm just not sure it's the fast Jesus was talking about.

I would agree with the above, and would add that Spiritualists are also dodgy ground, as warned in the Bible.

Returning to the OP, humans do like to put a marketing label on diet ‘fads’ … in this case ‘daniel‘ or ‘white’ rather than calling it what it actually is, eg, vegetarian or meat free or raw foods, or whatever. None of them are fasting in the true sense. If you are eating, you are not fasting - especially in the Biblical sense.

The red flag is always raised for me when something has the most tenuous and convoluted claims to be Biblical because we know the enemy is the author of confusion.

Same. I’ve been in charismatic churches for forty years and this “white diet/ fast” is news to me.

This thread has got me thinking about fasting and the purpose of it. I agree with @ChristmasStars that denying ourselves food reminds us of our primary need for God, above all, even above food.

I’m also aware that Biblically fasting has been associated with humbling oneself before God. God requires us to humble ourselves (James 4:10) - and fasting is His ordained way doing it.( Psalm 35:13, 69:10).

Perhaps this helps us understand how our Lord was so strongly opposed to fasting being used as an outward (prideful) show (Matthew 6:16-18). Such a fast is the antithesis of humility.

It’s also associated with repentance (Joel 2:12) deliverance (Matthew 17:21) and discerning God’s specific will (Acts 13:2, 14:23).

Fascinating topic and a spiritual discipline which arguably has been greatly neglected by the church in recent times.

Really helpful scriptures there @LeaningOnTheEverlastingArms

Each to their own for me people can make their minds up and go to where they feel meets their needs. I do not attend that church but know of it quite well. It is an African quite orthodox church based on a lot of the Old Testament laws. There are other church's similar today which are Orthodox. In the Old Testament women had their own quarter and could not sit with men.
This is where some of their justifications come from but I didn't see the white fasting one there.
http://www.celestialchurchofchrist-worldwide.org/biblical_justification.htm

I am wondering if you attend like a Pentecostal style church.

It's interesting that they're following those OT laws. Like the ones I mentioned - about women on their period or who have just had a baby being unclean. We know why these things were in the OT and those reasons don't apply now.

The church I go to isn't Pentecostal as I understand it - I think that's a specific denomination. Like Assemblies of God and Elim.

You’re very welcome 👍

Hi! Did you mean to reply to me, or to ChristmasStars who said I really don't want to be divisive on here but I just looked up the church you mentioned ^ and they are not exactly mainstream. They're on a cult watch in some countries and have some very specific rules (menstruating women and new mums being unclean) so I'm not sure I'll be taking them as an example. ^

However, I would agree with @ChristmasStars' observations re The Celestial Church of Christ to be questionable in their demands and practise which do appear to be those of a cult.