Daniel and three young men were taken into a foreign court and offered the king's food. They asked for ten days of vegetables and water instead. Ten days is short enough to finish and long enough to change you, which is exactly why it is where most people should start.
What Scripture says came out of those ten days
- Daniel 1:15 — Their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the others. It shows on you.
- Daniel 1:17 — God gave them knowledge in all learning.
- Daniel 1:17 — God gave them skill in all learning.
- Daniel 1:17 — God gave them wisdom.
- Daniel 1:17 — Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
- Daniel 1:19 — When the king conversed with them, none was found like them. Your responses stand out above the average.
- Daniel 1:20 — Ten times better than the magicians and astrologers in the realm. Ten times sharper in Jesus than they were in their craft.
Read that list again and notice what is not on it. Not one of those outcomes is about the food. They are about clarity, wisdom, discernment, and standing out. The vegetables were never the point. The vegetables were what got out of the way.
What a Daniel Fast looks like practically
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes. Water and juice. No meat, no dairy, no sweets, no pleasant bread, nothing processed or rich. Plan your meals before day one — the fast that fails is almost always the fast nobody shopped for.
With a more intimate relationship with God, our spirits readily receive the Word of God, which makes us more determined to abide by it and not be hearers only. If our hearts and spirits are readily in receipt of the Word, we can abide by the Word easily. That is the real yield of these ten days.