January 22nd, 2016 | Uncategorized
Today I can say with much joy that I have completed my ten-day Daniel fasting journey. Throughout these ten days I have experienced significant spiritual and mental growth. I attribute my growth during this journey to Disciplined prayer and study. There are so many different areas of my life that have been positively affected over these ten days. I am going to share two of the most important areas that I believe has changed my life forever. I have been enlightened by the requirement of physical and spiritual discipline that was needed to make my fasting experience successful. I have always considered myself to be very disciplined, however my fasting experience has taken that discipline to an entirely new level.
Physical Discipline
I define physical discipline as our ability to prioritize the needs of our spirit over the wants of our flesh. My life has been transformed through gaining a deeper understanding of this concept. During my ten days I was restricted from eating meat, fried foods, dairy products, and sugar. On day two of my fast I started to reflect and realize that I have never had anyone place restriction on what I chose to eat. So for me making this commitment and lifestyle change was a very big step. Through my reflection and prayer God started to reveal to me how small things in our lives that we do not manage with discipline can lead to self-destruction. The physical dependence that I had for certain food made me examine other areas of my life that were only physical desires. I never want a physical desire to take precedence over the need for GOD in my life. Lately I have been working towards moving closer to discovering the purpose that GOD has ordained for my life. As I have moved closer to my purpose through the ten days, I started to think about how I would feel if my physical desires disqualified me for the ultimate plan God has over my life. I believe God’s grace and mercy is sufficient, however I cannot live comfortably knowing that I have not done everything possible to fulfill and protect my GOD given purpose in life. To think that my inability to control my physical desires could prevent me from being able to fulfill my purpose and receive some of GOD’S blessings is a horrific thought. I believe certain blessings that GOD bestows upon his people can only be received once we gain his trust. If I cannot be trusted to abstain from my physical desire for meat and sugar, how can I trusted with blessings such as true wealth or supreme leadership. My fasting journey forced me to find ways to control my physical desires. I learned how the power of our thoughts can control our physical desires. Controlling the things we listen to and watch is very important because it is through our hearing and seeing that our thoughts are developed. During my fast anything that did not align with my journey I would remove it from my life. The most important part of being physically discipline is having a changed mind. I had to make a decision that I would follow through until the end.
Spiritual discipline
My Spiritual discipline was taken to another level through my set goals of prayer, meditation, and bible reading three times a day. My daily bible reading revealed to me how GOD blessed Daniel with superior knowledge and understanding through his discipline and faith. My fasting experience brought knowledge and understanding to multiple areas of my life. I attribute my gain of knowledge and understanding to the spiritual discipline I showed everyday. I believe GOD rewarded me for seeking him and attempting to move closer to him daily. The bible says GOD revealed deep and hidden things to Daniel. The Daniel fast for me was all about gaining that superior knowledge and understanding that was rewarded to Daniel for his discipline and faith.
All in all I benefited greatly from my experience and look forward to fasting again. I have developed habits that I have decided to apply to my life forever. Thank you for allowing me to share my experience with you. “To God Be The Glory”
Victory Scholar: Jonathan McNair
Present University: Ulster University
US League: East Coast Conference
Club/Community Partner Ulster Elks/ Andersonstown Tigers
Alma Mater: St Thomas Aquinas College
Sponsored By:
