ARE YOU READY FOR THE BEST FAST OF DANIEL EVER?
“See the 21-Days like God calling. Will you accept or decline this call to know Him like never before?”
Dear reader,
Welcome to the best Fast of Daniel yet! I’m sure that in this period of time that we will fully dedicate to God, many amazing things are going to happen. Ultimately, you will receive the Holy Spirit, which is the main objective of the 21-Day Fast.
Apart from being away from the news, the Internet (except if you work with it), social media (except the ones from the UCKG HelpCentre), TV programmes, secular music and going out with the wrong crowd, you are invited to do more in order to invest in your relationship with God. Surely you have often heard the phrase, “The more, the better!”
This phrase is applicable whenever we want something to be better. In the case of the Fast of Daniel, which starts on 9th February and will end on 1st March, it will be the best, because we will do what we have never done before.
So, the question is, what can we do that hasn’t been done before to prepare ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit? Or to receive one more portion of His anointing in our lives?
Sincerely answer this question and do more this time!
Spiritual Detoxification:
Separating ourselves for God
The 21-day Fast of Daniel is back! This fast is a spiritual detox, a disconnection from all secular information, media and entertainment.
If you stop and think about it, we consume so much negativity without even realising it. The mass of information that surrounds us daily can be overwhelming and hostile.
It is necessary to take a step away from it all and invest in what really matters – your soul.
Is it easy?
No, in fact taking part in this fast requires strength, but it is worth it. The 21-day fast will last from 9 February – 1 March. It is for two kinds of people:
• Those who do not have the Holy Spirit and want to receive Him.
• Those who have Him, but want to be renewed. Swap your thoughts for the thoughts of God; meditate on His Word and communicate with Him through prayer. This is your opportunity to have a true encounter with the Creator. If you wish to develop spiritually and desire to have His seal, then this is the time.
The first thing we must acknowledge on our journey to receiving the Holy Spirit or being renewed by Him is our weaknesses and mistakes.
The Holy Spirit cannot come into our lives when we think that we are perfect and do not need help.
Recognising our mistakes, asking for forgiveness and forgiving others is a sign of sincerity and a humble heart. This is the type of heart that the Holy Spirit wants to live in.
You have now received the guidance you need to get the most out of Day 1. Listen in to Liberty Radio every night at 1opm, as Bishop Alvaro Lima will guide you on how to make the most of the teaching for the following day.
Sincerity and a humble heart. This is the type of heart that the Holy Spirit wants to live in.
FAST OF DANIEL FROM 9 FEBRUARY TO 1 OF MARCH
WE RECEIVED HIM
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
I wanted to belong to Him not a religion.
“Today I have true peace, joy and I want to tell everyone about what I’ve received! I am now a new person because of my experience during the 21 days. It was then that I surrendered myself totally to God. I had to erase the religious mentality I picked up from my background and understood that I needed to have my own personal relationship with God. From then, I started to see changes in my way of thinking and behaviour. I spent more time reading my Bible to really understand God’s will for myself. I let go of all the things that I noticed did not please Him. I made Him my all and He gave me His all in return.”
Priscilla Theodore
Learning to believe in myself again
Being a long-term member of the church and feeling stuck – whilst knowing that God wants to have a personal relationship with you – is the most distressing feeling.
My life was based on how I felt; I was constantly depressed, and I allowed doubts to control my mind.
I went into the 21-Day fast reluctantly and with little hope. An assistant told me that receiving is by faith and not through emotions, so I needed to use my faith to believe that I would receive Him.
I started praying and to simply obey. It wasn’t an easy journey, but I now have God in me.
Abiola Oladunni
It only gets better and better
I received the Holy Spirit a few years before the first 21-Day purpose was announced; however, every time it comes around again, it is always an amazing revival.
Each purpose only gets better. Due to taking part in these purposes, I no longer waste time with things that cannot add to me. The Fast involves things that I consider should be apart of our lives, such as praying, fasting and staying connected to God’s thoughts. By doing these things already, when the Fast comes again, we gain even more than we expected.
Something I love about the 21-Day Fast is the messages that are shared with us; they are strong, and I always learn something new! I also get to discover more about myself and about God and, without a doubt, I can get closer to Him. I become more conscious of what I need to change to remain saved, and with that in mind, I must tell you that you develop an inner strength that helps you overcome anything in life.
Yolanda Napoli
Cutting all ties with the world
Becoming frustrated while being in church is one of the worst things to happen, yet, sadly, it happened to me.
When I took part in the 21 days, I decided to cut off all remaining ties I had with the world. This included certain friends outside and even inside the church. I even quit my job, as I knew it had links with my old life. I was so serious that I placed a sacrificial offering on the altar and did everything I could to show God how much I truly wanted Him.
On the last of the 21 days I received the Holy Spirit, and it was the best day of my life. This purposeful faith was exactly what I needed, and it is most probably what you need too.
Denise-Claire Lamun
A new me
The 21 days was exactly what I needed. I say this because I always struggled to take my relationship with God outside the church. I would always plan to seek the Holy Spirit at home and meditate on the word of God, yet I never had the strength to do it. However, during the 21 days I had no distractions, and as a result, I was able to take small steps each day to develop the intimacy with God that I had never had. I have now established my relationship with God and I am also born of Him.
David Kinganga
Seeking a new nature
The 21 days provided renewal and revival for many people, but they pushed Davina to overcome herself.
“Throughout 2015, I spent a very long time trying to overcome a certain sin in my own way. I would feel guilty, but would never truly repent. I kept this sin under the carpet. As a result, the sin took me away from God. Every day, I only felt further and further away from Him.
As I sat down in church, I was spiritually dead. I was oblivious to what was really going on.
It was during the 21 days that I realised how deep I had sunk. I realised how much I needed God. In order to be completely focused on Him, I disconnected from everything else. There were no more distractions or excuses. Once I found the root cause that explained why I was always falling behind, I was able to break this cycle.
Davina Taylor
Getting rid of the mask.
“Inside I was full of hatred, but on the outside I told myself my life was fine. The reality was that those around me didn’t like my split personality; sometimes I would be nice and other times I was the exact opposite. I spent months trying to change things, but it seemed hopeless.
I didn’t see that the way I was behaving was not right and hurt those around me. I just couldn’t see how wrong I was.
Today, I am a completely new person and through the Holy Spirit I have self-control. The 21-day Fast of Daniel played a big part in this.
I learnt where I was going wrong and how I could change. When I received the Holy Spirit I was no longer the same. The only way for me to continue being successful is to continue investing in my spiritual life.”
James Ahanonu
Learning to smile again.
“My troubled past influenced me to become a troubled teen and eventually a bitter and depressed adult with a very short fuse. One of the biggest steps I had to take to change was to let go of the things that I’d seen and heard growing up that had hurt me deeply.
Forgiveness sounds easy in theory, but in practice it takes courage. I gave over my past and everything that I had been to God and today, I am completely differently.
My life has a brand new meaning. I am a different person; I am stronger and bolder to face difficulties that may come my way.”
Leanne Nolan
An end to my frustration!
“I had a bad temper that I couldn’t control. Despite being this way I always wanted to grow into a decent man. I’d heard a lot about what to do to receive the Holy Spirit, but I never really applied it to my life – hence why the change I wanted to see in myself never took place. When I decided to humble myself and take God seriously, it was as if I was hearing about Him for the first time after being in church for about a year. I wanted this self-control, peace, and joy that I lacked. But above all, I wanted to know who God was, so I fully threw myself into the fast.
I was 16 at the time and sacrificed my BlackBerry simply because I wanted all the negative links that I was cutting during the fast to remain cut. Four years on and I’m still reaping the benefits of the decision I made as a 16-year-old boy, which was to take part in the 21-day Fast of Daniel.”
Gabriel Adebayo
Attention worth seeking for.
“The service at the UCKG helped me understand the reason why I felt so empty inside. Change became something very real to me, but every time I attempted to convert, I would fall right back to my attention-seeking ways.
This was because although I wanted to be different, I was never decided, but the day I made up my mind, the only attention that I wanted was God’s!
I let go of everything that would separate me from Him starting with my past.
Today, I can say that I know the true meaning of the word ‘happiness’. The attention I thought I lacked, I have received from the One who well and truly gives it in abundance. I am whole within and there is no club, drink or wild party that can do what God has done for me.”
Paulett Bandeira
A true commitment.
“When I was younger, a male family friend abused me. I didn’t understand it at the time and as I grew older, I suppressed it. But in the back of my mind, I knew it was the reason why I would hook up with so many girls just to forget the past and prove my masculinity.
So though I wanted to have a serious relationship, I couldn’t help myself. My unfaithfulness was okay in my conscience, because I believed that God knew I had a good heart, despite all the bad things I did…I was wrong!
Today, I am a faithful married man because I surrendered to God the root of my problem and He transformed everything.
He gave me the greatest gift of all—His Holy Spirit. I changed individually and consequently, me and my partner, Yasmin, changed as a couple.
I am faithful to her and we do everything together. There is now trust and commitment in our relationship because I have a true commitment with God.”
Tapiwa Senah