Daniel Fast Expectations
What Should I Expect
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: Our body needs time to purge itself of fats, salt and sugar and other food items that we are accustomed to eating. Your body may experience moderate to severe headaches for the first day or two as it rids itself of these impurities.
FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE: These precise details of this fast are between you and God. In the 14th Chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul describes how we should relate in love to one another in the manner of what we eat or choose not to eat. He says, “each person is free to follow the convictions of his own conscience.” (Romans 14, The Message, p.331)
If you fast often, you may need to increase your fasting to another level during this time. If this is your first fast, you may not be able to endure as many restrictions as someone else who fast frequently. In the future, attempt to live a “fasted lifestyle”, increasingly accommodating God and not the flesh.
ACCOUNTABILITY: You will be most successful with this fast if you make yourself accountable to at least one another person during the fast. This is a great time to maximize your Small Groups. Encourage one another, pray for one another. If someone eats the wrong foods, do not condemn them but rather encourage them to continue the prescribed foods for the fast.
DISTRACTIONS: It will be difficult for you to consecrate yourself if you feed on things such as television and/or other forms of entertainment during this time. These items may deter you from effectively reaching the goal of the fast.
During this time, married couples should also abstain from intimate relationships.
(I Corinthians 7:3-5)