At various times in my life, I have gone on a “Daniel fast”; we'll talk about the quotations later. Usually, many churches call for it at the beginning of a new year, while in certain places, it is observed regularly at anytime during the year. If you are not familiar with the “Daniel fast”, here is a simple way to present it: it is usually a period of 21 days where a person eats mostly vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. - nothing processed and no animal products, including diary. During the “Daniel fast”, water is the only drink “allowed”. The practice is based on two passage of scriptures in the book of Daniel, chapter 1 verses 8 - 16 and chapter 10 verse 3.
The passage in Daniel 1 is where Daniel and his three friends refused to eat the King’s food so they wouldn't defile themselves. Daniel requested vegetables and water to ensure they were not defiled; after ten days, their appearance was better than those eating the food assigned by the king. Based on this, the king's steward agreed to give the four Hebrew boys only vegetables during their three years of training. It is clear that this passage is referring to a diet Daniel and his friends went on to avoid defiling themselves, it wasn't a fast; obviously, they were not fasting for 3 years. That said, the diet is definitely something that was shown to be good for the body; similar diets have been promoted in our day for good health.
In Daniel 10:3, Daniel was mourning, not fasting; this is why I put “Daniel Fast” in quotation marks. Daniel never described this period of his life as a time of fasting, but rather a time of mourning. Granted, there are a number of times in the scriptures where people fasted while they mourned (2 Samuel 1:11-12; 2 Samuel 3:35; Jonah 3:5), but when this was the case, the scripture clearly states that they were fasting and mourning. There are also a number of passages that states people were mourning, but with no fasting (Numbers 20:29; Deut 34:8; Deut 21:12-13); so, we cannot equate Daniel’s mourning to a fast, the Bible does not say he was fasting. Daniel also neglected taking care of his body; I am yet to hear a sermon or read on the topic of the Daniel Fast that covered this part of neglecting to refresh or groom the body. The reason is simple, Daniel 10 was not a fast, but a time Daniel was mourning, humbling himself before God to set his heart to understand a vision. Why is this important? what is the point in bringing this up? For a couple of reasons:
1. Daniel’s diet during this time of mourning was not intended to be a guide for a different way of fasting. For examples of fasting in the Bible, please read Matthew 4:2; Acts 13:2-3; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Jonah 3:5; Jeremiah 36:9 etc. These examples are complete abstinence from food for a period of time, not an adjusted diet. Based on these examples, as long as Daniel was eating, he was not fasting. It is only a bible fast if there is total abstinence from food for a period of time - it doesn’t have to be 21 days or 7 days or 3 days; it can be a day or just skipping one or two meals to focus on prayer and the word. There is no other example of “Daniel’s Fast” in the scriptures and Daniel’s behavior in Daniel 10 is consistent with mourning. We also see Daniel fast in Daniel 9:3, he wasn't on a diet here, he gave up food entirely, which is consistent with the examples given above.
2. There are books and articles prescribing what can or cannot be eaten during a Daniel Fast, this are based on several interpretations of what Daniel meant by “no pleasant food” in Daniel 10:3 and vegetables mentioned in Daniel 1. This is problematic because for people that already consider vegetables pleasant (unfortunately, I am not one of them), going on a fast that is mainly vegetables does not make much of a difference to them. More so, the selection of what Daniel chose to avoid was not prescribed to him by anyone or God for that matter. He decided what was unpleasant food. The definition that has been adopted is a modern creation. The point is, if you do choose to avoid certain foods to humble yourself before God, you are the one that knows the foods that hit home for you, not a man made prescription. If you would like to humble yourself before God by going on a diet of unpleasant foods, what is unpleasant is defined by you and it is between you and God.
3. Daniel 10 tells us that Daniel’s mourning was in the first month of the year; this is the same month when the passover and festival of unleavened bread is observed. Based on the timing the angel provided, it appears Daniel’s mourning started the third day of the first month and lasted till the angel appeared to him on the 24th day of the month. Why is this important? The process of the passover starts on the 10th day of the first month (Exodus 12) with the selection of the passover lamb; the passover lamb is killed at twilight on the 14th day of the first month and then eaten that same night. The 7 day festival of unleavened bread follows the passover, Jews are not to eat anything that is leavened during this time; this is observed from the night of the 14th day of the first month to the evening of the 21st day of the first month. Was Daniel also mourning in recognition of the fact that the month was a time they were to be observing these commands of God, but they were not in Jerusalem to do so? These commandments had to be carried out in the place God had chosen, which was in Jerusalem (Deut 16:2, 16). The Bible is silent on if this was part of why Daniel was mourning, so I am not going to try to draw a conclusion. What we can say is that the first month is important to Daniel as a Jew; the month, among other things, would have served as a reminder of their displacement from the promised land.
4. That said, Daniel 10:12 tells us exactly why Daniel was mourning, he wanted to humble himself before God and set his heart to understand the vision. So, Daniel had two goals in mind in going on this diet and mourning: humble himself and to get clarity on the vision. Well, it worked; God sent an angel with the answer to his request. What we can take away from this is, while it is not a fast, changing our diet to something that is not pleasant to us, can be a way we humble ourselves before God. As in the case of Daniel, God acknowledged it (Daniel 10:12) and heard his prayers. Personally, I have experienced God honoring this type of humbling of oneself to seek his face.
Please do not go away from reading this post thinking there is no place for the Daniel diet; there is, it is a way to humble ourselves before God. Actually, I wrote this post on Day 20 of a Daniel like diet, basically no meat or animal products which I really enjoy. I jokingly call myself a “meatetarian” or carnivore. That said, this is not a fast, it is a diet during a period of humbling myself before God; like Daniel, it was a period where I needed to get understanding of certain things going on and I can honestly testify that I got clarity and answers. I have also heard people say they got healed of one health issue or the other during a Daniel diet, it is not surprising at all; the Daniel diet is a healthy diet that gives the body what it needs and avoids the over processed diet that we (at least in the USA) are exposed to daily.
To summarize, the Daniel diet is a way to humble ourselves before God, it is not a substitute to fasting. When God leads us or we decide to fast, it is a time to abstain from food completely.
Please read the Bible verses I have shared in this write up, don’t just take my word for it; study it for yourself with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Shalom!
