Day 4 Devotional: Fasting to Prepare

So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. (Daniel 2:16)

Before Jesus went into ministry, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days. (Matthew 4:2) Fasting isn’t just an Old Testament practice. Jesus fasted and talked about fasting, and what it means to fast in the “secret place” where only your Heavenly Father sees. (Matthew 6:16-18)

Whatever happened during this forty day period of fasting, it was essential for Jesus to take this time to get away alone with His Father and prepare for what would come next.

When is the last time you paused and adequately prepared your heart, soul, and spirit for the next big thing that God has for you?

Or are you in such a rush to get it done that you can’t afford taking extra time to prepare? After all, there is too much to do and too little time . . .

In fact, there are 168 hours in a week, which is 10,080 minutes. Every day has about 1,440 minutes. That seems like a lot, and I would happily take that equivalent amount of money each day – that paycheck would be a half million dollars a year!

But we live with a nagging sense that we don’t have enough time or no time to spare.

It could be that we are investing those minutes on the wrong end, that we are focused on doing all the things and not putting enough investment in preparing and praying about what God is going to do through us.

Let’s remember, the preparation and prayer phase is where the real “work” happens.

In chapter 2 of the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream and called all his wise men to interpret it. When none of them were able to do so, he became furious and commanded them all to be killed, including Daniel and his friends (who weren’t even present at the interrogation).

When Daniel hears the news, he asks for the most valuable commodity: time. He invests this time not in frantic planning, but spending a night in prayer, requesting compassion and insight from God, and he gets a response from the Lord!

Your Journey

Can you take this period of prayer and fasting not to do more, but simply to pray and prepare? Maybe you know what you need to prepare for, or maybe you have a sense that God is preparing you for “something” and you pray for clarity. What is it for you?

Song: Build My Life by Pat Barrett (YouTube)

Daniel 2:16

Isaiah 40:3-5

Luke 4:1-2

You can utilize the Daniel Fast Journey book (available on Amazon) for more information about the Daniel Fast along with a 21-day meal plan and recipes.