Fasting is a term that most people would associate with some sort of "religious starvation." Most envision going for a specific time frame with only drinking water. Many people have adapted the idea of fasting from some sort of specific food such as sweets or any other personal temptation. Some might even take a fast from other things, such as technology or social media. The thought of fasting, to most people, seems pointless, but as Christians, God calls us to fast.

I was introduced to the Daniel fast at my local church, New City, in Phoenix, Arizona. As a church, they encouraged the members to participate in this fast in one of two ways: 1)The full 10 day "Daniel Fast" or 2) Three days of a 24-hour strictly water fast. The church also announced that at the end of the fast the members would join together and break the fast together by taking communion. I thought that this would be a really moving experience to be a part of and I wanted to try the fast. Now, what exactly is the Daniel Fast?

Basically, you eliminate "happiness" from your diet - as I would put it. Sweets, bread, meat, and dairy are the big "no nos" to this fast. The main foods that are allowed include all fruits, vegetables, and unleavened bread. This fast comes from the book of Daniel where the men were tested to stray from "royal" or "choice" foods and go 10 days with "vegetables to eat and water to drink." Again, no "happiness."

My experience with the Daniel Fast started out well, as we ate brown rice with sautéed vegetables. It was a satisfactory meal, but just felt very plain without any type of teriyaki sauce or something related. The second day went well; we mostly ate fruits. Bananas, pineapple, and an all fruit smoothies from Jamba Juice. The third day was the hardest for me. All the food that I had prepared had absolutely zero flavor. I found myself not eating at all, instead of eating my third banana of the day. Things just deteriorated from there. After the 5th day I started to get really sick. My body shook, and I felt weak and malnourished; probably because of the lack of protein in my diet. After powering through that day, I cheated and got some chicken to add to my brown rice and vegetables. I felt better only an hour later. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to last the full 10 days of the fast.

I tried to redeem myself by completing the fast by fasting for 24 hours for 2 consecutive days. Basically how this worked is that you need to go for 24 consecutive hours with only drinking water. I implemented this form of fasting by eating lunch around 1pm and then not eating again until 1pm the following day. I did this for 2 days. This form of fasting was much easier for me. I was able to eat a well balanced meal that kept me from feeling sick. Around 10 o'clock at night my stomach would growl like a lion but I would just drown it with water.

I would like to try the Daniel Fast again, and fully complete the 10 days without cheating. One of the main challenges for me was that I live on a college campus. The food options around campus are very limited so it was hard to make the most of the fast. The Internet is a great source for finding great recipes people can make that follow all of the guidelines of the fast. God calls us to fast and I would like to honor Him through prayer and a complete and successful fast. This experience was an amazing learning opportunity for me to learn more about my God, and how we can better honor and serve Him through fasting.