Daniel was a man of prayer, and when he had a disturbing vision of a great conflict, he fasted and mourned for 21 days, depriving himself of choice food and wine. God answered his prayer by sending an angel, that fought through spiritual forces to bring the revelation of what Daniel’s vision meant. (Daniel 10)
Many choose to follow Daniel’s example when they seek the Lord’s wisdom or intervention. At Salem, we call this a partial fast, and it is typically safe for anyone to do, although you still should consult your doctor. When you sacrifice something you love for God, and replace that thing with God, He will honor that in powerful ways.
Daniel sacrificed the foods he enjoyed until God answered his prayer, but what exactly did that look like? The Bible is a little vague on what Daniel’s diet was, but if you combine the details from his diet here with the diet that he chose when he arrived in Babylon (Daniel 1), you get vegetables and water. Christians traditionally interpret this as any fruit, vegetable, whole grain, nut, or legume (beans). Technically the Hebrew word is zeron, which means vegetable or something sown, but what that meant in the Biblical context may have included fruits.
The spirit of the fast is to obstain from foods that bring you joy (choice food), and instead focus on God. In short, if your food is boring, you won’t think about it so much, and you can spend that mental energy on prayer. With this in mind, it is recommended to plan out a few basic meals that you repeat throughout your fasting window, so that your time is not consumed trying every Daniel Fast recipe you find on the internet in an attempt to make your menu less boring. Below is a list of foods that are on the traditional Daniel Fast diet.
Foods to Eat:
Whole Grains: barley, brown rice, oats.
Beans/Legumes: red beans, black beans, dried beans, long beans, french beans, pinto beans, split peas, black eyed peas, lentils.
Vegetables: asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, beets, bean sprouts, carrots, cabbage, celery, cauliflower, chili peppers, cucumbers, corn, cactus, eggplant, ginger root, garlic, kale, lettuce, leeks, mustard greens, mushrooms, onions, okra, potatoes, pickles, parsley, rutabagas, radishes, spinach, sprouts, scallions, sweet potatoes, squashes, turnips, tomatoes, water chestnut, yams, zucchini.
Fruits: apricots, apples, black berries, blue berries, boysenberries, bananas, cherries, cranberries, cantaloupe, dragon fruit, durian, figs, grapes, grapefruit, guava, honeydew melons, kiwi, litchi, lime, lemons, mangosteen, mangoes, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, papayas, plums, prunes, raspberries, raisins, strawberries, tangerines, tangelos, watermelon.
Nuts and Seeds: almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds.
Liquid: spring water, 100% natural fruit or vegetable juice (be careful because fruit juices are very high in sugar).
Foods to Avoid:
- Caffeine
- Carbonated soft drinks
- Milk
- Cheese
- Meat
- White rice
- Fried food
- Refined sugar
- Foods made with refined sugar
- Sugar substitutes
- Food containing preservatives or additives
- White flour and food made by it
- Butter, margarine and high fat products
- Chips
- Alcohol
- Non-prescription drugs