FAST OF DANIEL

How is your spiritual life? Have you had an experience with God lately? A revival? A renewal? Or do you actually realise that you have been the same for a long time? What about changing it?

You may not be looking for ways to “provoke” this change, but deep down inside, you – and only you – know how much you need to do more for your spiritual life. After all, you do not want to be “warm” in your faith, do you?

Your opportunity has come. Prepare yourself for an experience of renewal as you never experienced during the Fast of Daniel, which begins on 5th June.

Unlike regular fasts – abstinence from water, food or certain foods – the goal of the Fast of Daniel is to “isolate oneself from the secular world, which only brings grief. It is also for one to live the living water of the Holy Spirit,” as explained by Bishop Edir Macedo on his radio programme.

During the 21-day purpose, people give up information and entertainment – which all interfere with one’s spiritual life – with the aim of getting closer to God’s thoughts.

Contrary to what it may seem, this kind of “isolation” is not a burden but a unique experience of edification, of spiritual and mental cleansing. When one discards the volume of information and worries, absorbed on a daily basis, one becomes free, purified and thus more sensitive to the voice of God. What to do during the Fast of Daniel

During this period of “spiritual cleansing”, try to stay away from social networks, news, unbiblical novels, secular movies and any kind of entertainment that can distance you from your focus.

A good opportunity to “warm up” or increase your faith is to absorb spiritual content, such as following the Universal.org, uckg.ae, the posts on the Universal blogs, Bishop Macedo’s blog and listen to network UCKG radio every night at 10 pm.

But beware: do not visit every gospel site or watch every movie that has Christian content, because you can encounter the same problem: being overwhelmed with information.

Fasting is open to everyone who craves something more in life with God, a greater commitment to Him, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and a spiritual revival.

Prepare for this purpose that will bring a fountain of benefits to further strengthen your faith. Will you participate in the next Fast of Daniel? Have you ever participated in others? What were the results? Share your experience in the comments.

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• Read more: What to do during the 21 days of the Fast of Daniel?

Before finding out what to do, you need to understand what not to do during the Fast of Daniel, which begins on Sunday, 5th June: – Remove all unnecessary and useless activities from your life and everything that diverts your focus from God. – Always evaluate according of what is needed. Needs are: to eat, drink, sleep, work, study, care for your spiritual life, health and relationships (whether family, friendship or marriage). Exclude whatever is mere entertainment or distraction, which adds nothing to your life. Now, I understand what not to do, so what should I do?

Get in touch more with God’s voice. Follow the 4 steps below to do so: 1. Meditate on God’s Word. This is not about the quantity of reading, but what you absorb from what you read; 2. Go to church during these 21 days as much as possible to seek the Holy Spirit; 3. Have your moments with God also when you are outside the Church. Separate periods of prayer. To pray is to connect the mind directly with God and this can be done at any time or place. 4. Concentrate on absorbing spiritual content that is provided by the Universal church.

“The most important thing is to meditate on what God wants to say to you, and He only speaks for one reason: because He wants you to act. Take an action by investing in the direction He is showing. If He sees that you do not practise what He says, you can be sure that He will not talk. The most important thing is to hear the voice of God and act upon what He says you have to do. Only then will you see the results of the Fast of Daniel in your life,” said

Bishop Renato Cardoso.

(There are little changes from the original text to fit with the UCKG UAE)