Daniel' fasted life

This message was preached in church on 17/8/14.

Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks to his God, as was his custom since early days”

Darius had passed a law stating that whoever petitioned god/man for 30 days except himself will be cast into the lion’s den. 

Even though Daniel was Darius's favorite, Daniel was not about to bow to his boss.

Daniel was bold and fearless and chose to ignore this law due to “his custom since early days”.

He was not afraid of this law. He did not run away. Instead he went home, opened his windows and continued praying to God. Amazing! If there was a law forbidding us to pray, would we have done such a thing? Most likely I would close the windows and pray, let alone open it! Perhaps I might even run away.

Daniel's custom since early days was to live a fasted life. This being the trailer, let us go to the intro.

By way of introduction, we read how the young man together with 3 of his friends were brought to Nebuchadnezzar's court to be trained in the literature and the law of the chaldeans. 

Food and lodging was to be provided. The food was the best of the best. It was food from the king's buffet! Just like now in this day and age, Malaysia has abundant food and in so many variety. 

Who can resist? How can we possibly live a fasted life? Yet Daniel and the 3 young man chose to live a 'fasted life' in the midst of plenty!

Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies nor with the wine which he drank…”

He asked the eunuch assigned to him to give him vegetables and water only. With great reluctance (for fear of the king), the eunuch gave in and agreed to a ten day test. He wanted to make sure that they did not turn out looking sickly and weak!

Daniel 1:12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink”

How did Daniel and his friends look after the 10-day detox? 

Daniel 1:10 "And at the end of the ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies"

I believe that they continued on this diet for 3 years in the courts of the king.

Daniel 1:5 "....and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king"

Natural benefits of a fasted life

There are 3 natural benefits of fasting & prayer. 

We will receive abundant wisdom, skill & understanding, favor with our employers/bosses including many opportunities to testify - just like Daniel and his friends.

    Wisdom, skill & understanding

Daniel 1:20 “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego) he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm”. 

Don't forget that these young men were already the best of the best. Daniel 1:3 "....gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace...."

In this day and age, you could call them the A-star student listing!

They were already smart to begin with but after the fast, they actually became 10x smarter!

The other fascinating thing was that, they actually chose not to rely on their own intelligence and ability. They set their hearts to rely solely on God during their years of training!

Favor with employers/bosses

Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel and gave him many gifts and made him chief administrator. Daniel also prospered in the reign of Darius and Cyrus.

Daniel 6:3 "Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him and the king (Darius) gave thought to setting him over the whole realm"

Daniel 6:28 “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian”

In fact Daniel served under 4 bosses: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus.

He was promoted by each of his 4 bosses and given many gifts.

Being a good testimony

All his bosses gave glory to God. They even made proclamations that others must give fear Daniel's God.

Nebuchadnezzar gave glory to God after Daniel interpreted 2 of his dreams (Daniel 4:34-35). In fact in the first dream, Daniel could even read his mind to tell him his dream even before interpreting it for him!

Darius passed a law that all men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel (Daniel 6:25-27).

I believe it was the ministry of Daniel that touched Cyrus so much that this king was stirred of God to send a delegation to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:2).

Spiritual benefits of a fasted life

There are 3 spiritual benefits of a fasted life.

They are:

Ability to interpret dreams & visions

Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams and the writing on the wall for Belshazzar (Daniel 2:28-30 and Daniel 5:26-28). I have been seeing visions since the start of the fast.

   Effective intercession

   2 important things in effective intercession: to enter into a deep and intense love relationship with God and to open our mouth in prayer to declare breakthroughs in prayer according to the word of God.

Daniel repented of his people’s sins and interceded for them. From the way he prayed, we can really see that he fully identified with the sins of his people.

Daniel 9:17 “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, open Your eyes and see our desolation…O Lord, hear! O Lord forgive! O Lord, listen & act”

Daniel 9:20 “Now while I was speaking, praying & confessing my sin & the sin of my people Israel & presenting my supplication before the Lord my God….”

God called him “greatly beloved” – Daniel 9:23, Daniel 10:11, Daniel 10:19.

Why did God call him greatly beloved? When we lived a fasted life, we will sense God's great love for us in deep intensity. It is this great love that enables us to love Him in return. It is this great love poured out in our hearts that makes us greatly beloved of the Lord!

God heard the words of his mouth from the first day he set himself to fast & pray – Daniel 10:12 “Then he (the angel) said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel for the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come because of your words”

When praying and fasting, let us ensure that only godly words come out of our mouth because God hears them!

Spiritual endurance in the midst of trials & testing

 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to the golden image made by Nebuchadnezzar. 

As a punishment they were thrown into the fire. They were not burnt even though they were thrown into the fiery furnace. This is their declaration and testimony to Nebuchadnezzar. 

Daniel 3:17-18 “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.

See the endurance of the 3 young men. See their amazing testimony from the words of their mouth. See how they stand firm for Jesus. Their deep faith and spiritual strength came from their fasted life!

Welcoming JESUS into our house means spending time with Him

This morning during the 6 am watch, I read Luke 10:39 - 42 and saw something new that I had never seen before.

Luke 10:38 "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house"

As a Christian, I have already welcomed Jesus into my house the moment I prayed the sinner's prayer. 

However I wonder if I had been like Martha too busy serving to spend time with the Lord?

Luke 10:40 "But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me"

Mary also welcomed Jesus into the house but unlike Martha, she took time to sit at the feet of the Lord and to hear His word.

Hearing God's word takes time and requires focus and concentration. It cannot be rushed. A posture of sitting at His feet indicates a very relaxed/enjoyable time! Mary was having a good time admiring the beauty of the Lord and inquiring in His temple.

Mary was commended by the Lord as she not only welcomed Jesus into her house but also chose to sit at the feet of the Lord.

Luke 10:42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her"

Prayer

"LORD JESUS You are welcome into my life. Please give me the grace to sit at Your feet and to enjoy Your Word. Amen"

The Moses heart in prayer - a persistent heart

One more aspect of Moses heart (which was missed out) is with regards to his persistency in prayer.

In Deut 9:18-25, not only did Moses fast and pray, he did so for 40 days. In these verses, Moses simply summarized his 40 day prayer. Think about what it means. For forty days, Moses basically prayed the same thing over and over and over again. I am sure he worded it in different ways. I am sure he took different approaches. I am sure he added argument upon argument. However for 40 days he basically said nothing more than "Please forgive these obstinate and stubborn people".

Some things are so important that they need to be repeated again and again. What would have happened if Moses had quit praying on day 39? If we want to be successful in prayer, we have to learn to be persistent!

If I perish, I perish - fasting & prayer defeated the fear of death

It really dawned upon me that fasting and prayer is the only way to help take away the fear of death from us.

Teaching on the power of the corporate fast to the youths today, God led me to see something in Esther's life that I had not seen before.

She was actually afraid. She was very fearful. She was afraid to die. Yet she took the step of faith willing to endure the threat of death rather than see an entire nation destroyed! She also knew that she had no power in herself to overcome the fear of death. Her only help was to trust in God.

Here was a young lady upon whose shoulders rest the destiny of the nation! Indeed a stressful position and a heavy burden!

In the capital of Sushan, King Ahasuerus who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia decided to gather all the beautiful women in the kingdom to be presented to the King. The King had decided to de-throne Vashti as his queen as she had refused to come before him when he summoned her to show her beauty to his guests at a banquet.

Among the parade of beautiful women was one called Esther who was brought up by Mordecai, her uncle (her parents have passed away). She was chosen to be part of the harem, to be given beauty preparations and an allowance. She was highly favored among all the woman in the harem and was given 7 maidservants to attend to her needs.

But Esther was a Jew and kept her identity a secret on the advice of her uncle.

Esther 2:10 "Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it"

Esther 2:20 "Now Esther had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by him"

Mordecai kept a watchful eye on her. 

Esther 4:11 "And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women's quarters, to learn of Esther's welfare and what was happening to her"

After one year, Esther was chosen to go in to the king and when the king saw her, he loved her and made her queen.

Esther 2:17 "The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgin; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti"

Then arose a man called Haman who was promoted to be the king's second man. Angered by Mordecai who refused to bow and pay homage to Haman at the king's gate, Haman was filled with wrath.

He made the decision to destroy all the Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus - the people of Mordecai. Haman plotted to get the king to declare a law to destroy the Jews (Esther 3:9)

The command was to kill and to annihilate all the Jews both young and old, little children and women, in one day and to plunder their possessions (this is happening in Mosul, Iraq today)!

Many of the Jews went into a season of praying and fasting starting with Mordecai.

Esther 4:1 "When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes and went out in the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry"

Many of the Jews also fasted and wept, wailing and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. Thus nationwide prayer and fasting had started even before the 3-day fast and pray!

Mordecai told her what had happened and commanded her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people (Esther 4:8)

I can almost sense the fear in Esther's voice as she responded to Mordecai. It was the fear of death!

Esther 4:11 "All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live...."

Esther who had been obedient to Mordecai all her life suddenly was gripped by fear for her own safety. She could even be struggling with the fear of letting go of her position as queen. 

Mordecai reminded her that if she did not go in to plead to the king, she herself would not escape the destruction commanded by the king.

For the first time Esther commanded Mordecai instead of the other way around. Esther was afraid. The destiny of the Jews was in her hands. If she kept quiet, she will surely die!

So she asked for courage to go before the king. She knew that she did not have it in her. Her spirit was willing but her flesh was weak. She had to gain the courage to go before the king for the sake of her people!

She asked Mordecai to gather all the Jews in the capital to fast and pray for her, neither eat or drink for 3 days night and day.

Esther 4:16 "Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish"

With that statement, Esther defeated the fear of death in her. Prayer and fasting strengthened her resolve! She went in to the king even though she had not been called and he held out his golden scepter to her as a sign of favor!

As we all know, Haman was hung on the very structure he had erected to hang Mordecai and the Jews were allowed to defend themselves against their enemies. Mordecai was later promoted to prime minister because of his advice and counsel and he honored God by not bowing to Haman!

Prayer

O Lord may the fear of death be put away from us during these 40 days prayer and fasting. In Jesus Name. Amen.

6 Rewards of Fasting & Prayer - Joel 2

6 Rewards of Corporate Prayer & Fasting in Joel 2

1. Release of financial blessing

Joel 2:19 "The Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them...."

Grain, new wine and oil are precious commodities.

The story of told of the widow who had nothing but a jar of oil. In 2 Kings 4:1, the widow of one of the prophets told Elisha that "the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves" as she had no money except for a jar of oil.

Elisha told her to borrow all the vessels from her neighbors and to start pouring the small jar of oil into all the jars she borrowed. Miraculously the oil from the small jar flowed until all the jars she had borrowed were filled!

So valuable were the jars of oil that Elisha told her in v7 "..."Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest". 

The money earned on the oil was even enough for her retirement!

2. Restoration of financial loss 

Joel 2:25-26

"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the Lord Your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you: And My people shall never be put to shame"

Are you ashamed because of your financial loss? Are you ashamed because of your bankruptcy? God can restore your finances!

Job had everything taken away from him. His health, wealth and family. Yet in Job 23:12, Job fasted and prayed and focused on the word of God "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food". 

Job experienced great breakthrough in Job 42:10 when God restored his losses and gave him twice as much as he had before. God's open rewards flooded Job's life.

3. Rejoicing in the latter rain

Rain is needed to bring forth a great harvest. The children of Israel needed heavy rains to ensure the fertility of their pastures and their agricultural produce. Rain is also needed for their animals to drink and thrive.

Joel 2:22-23 "....For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruits: The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. Be glad then, you children of Zion. And rejoice in the Lord your God. For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you - The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month"

The former rain refers to the autumn rain, which usually comes during planting time. The latter rain is the rain before spring which is the time of harvest.

Malaysia needs rain to fill up the dams. Let us cry out to the Lord for the physical rain to fall over all the catchment areas.

4. Revival in the local church

The rain is also symbolic of the rain of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. We need a refreshing, a revival and a renewal of our love for God in the last days to enable us to have such a desire to walk close to God and to stand firm for Him in times of trail.

God's Spirit poured out on all flesh will bring us the revival and renewal that we need to strengthen and enrich our prayer life!

Joel 2:26-27 "And it shall come to pass afterward (signifying that it is an after-event of the corporate prayer and fasting) that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions, And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days"

5. Removal of reproach 

Have you been put to shame by anyone or anything which has happened in your life? 

God promised us in Joel 2:19 "....I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations"

"Reproach" in Hebrew is "cherpah" - a person or thing which is despised. Have you been despised by someone in school, in your workplace or in your family? Has someone been "tormenting" you or making fun of your faith or even scolding you for attending church or being a Christian? 

Have you heard people saying to you "Why is his/her God not helping her in this situation?"

Fast and pray and commit this situation to the Lord. God will remove the reproach from your life! 

6. Rewards of souls

God's heart is for souls. 

During this time of fasting and prayer, pray for the salvation of your loved ones and claim the promise of Joel 2:32 "And it shall come to pass, That whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance...."

Not just salvation but also deliverance from sinful habits, addiction to pornography, immorality, bad temper, foul language, alcoholism, gambling and anything that takes away our attention from God!

The rewards of the Joel fast

The rewards of the Joel fast - Solemn Assembly

There is great rewards and blessings when we observe a season of corporate prayer and fasting as told by the prophet Joel.

Joel 2:15-16 speaks of a corporate fast initiated by God:

"Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes....."

Joel 2:17 speaks of the elders having to take the lead in the corporate fasting and prayer:

"Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the people, "Where is their God?"

Joel speaks of a time of great distress for the nation of Israel. A time of poverty, great threats and trouble. A time of mourning, travailing and weeping.

At this time there was a call for a corporate fasting and prayer. The cry was a call discerned by the leaders as one coming from God's own heart - 

Joel 2:12 - 14

"Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me, with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord, your God, For He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him- A grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord Your God?"