Book Review: The Daniel Fast

The Daniel Fast by Susan Gregory lays the foundation for having a successful Daniel Fast that will feed your soul, strengthen your spirit and renew your body.  Gregory introduces herself as "an ordinary woman whose life has been dramatically changed by stepping into a deeply personal day-to-day relationship with Jesus Christ."  She discusses some of her achievements and some of her struggles which ultimately led to diving into the Bible and writing about The Daniel Fast, first as a blog and then as this book.

Gregory discusses the discipline of fasting and its three types: absolute fasting, normal fasting and partial fasting.  Biblical fasting has to do with restricting food for a spiritual purpose (without our spiritual lives it would just be a diet).

The Daniel Fast is a partial fast in which some foods are restricted based on the experiences of Daniel in Daniel 1 and Daniel 10.  It is a fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.  Gregory also mentions six Ps that help this fast succeed: Prayer, Planning, Preparation, Participation, Praise and Process.

I love that this book is so practical!  After discussing all about The Daniel Fast, the book also includes a food list (what to include in the fast and what to avoid), followed by recipes (over 100 pages!), followed by menu options, followed by a 21 day Daniel Fast devotional.  What a complete manual this is!!  The book ends with FAQs and the author makes sure to note that if you question is not addressed to please not hesitate to contact her.  This book is truly informative and personal at the same time, a quality that is hard to find.

I have not personally done this fast.  I loved reading about it and I really think that there would be a lot of benefit for me to do this.  I plan to do this fast at some point in 2012, and with this book I feel not only inspired but well equipped to succeed.

Disclosure:  Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for my review.  All opinions expressed are 100% my own.