Daniel Fast

As God mobilizes His army, the enemy mobilizes his as well. But praise the Lord! He “trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1). One thing that the Lord has been consistently emphasizing is the importance of putting on the full armor of God. But more specifically, I feel like God is saying “the key to the battle is the breastplate of righteousness.”

Remember at the beginning of the year when we boldly prophesied that this is the year of the Lord’s favor? Well, this is the year of the Lord’s favor. He has anointed you to be the bearers of good news. He has anointed you to set the captives free. He has anointed you to release the prisoners from darkness, to be the light on this campus (Isaiah 61:1-2).

The Lord reminded me that this is not something that people can heal, but only God can restore. As the recent incidents bring to mind this country’s history of slavery, God has reminded me to look deeper, to see the slavery to sin that enslaves many people. I began to see an image of people marching the campus, shackled in chains. The Lord wants to break these chains! He wants to set captives free. But He reminded me, how are we to set captives free if we are captives ourselves? How are we to be the bearer of good news, to be the ones that release the prisoners from darkness if we are ourselves are enslaved to sin? If we fall back into the chains that we have been set free from, how are we to set other captives free? After a lot of self-reflection, I realized that many of the shows I watch, much of music I listen to, the jokes I crack, have a subtle hint of racism, sexism, or immorality. And my spirit has become accustomed to, even accepting of, this spirit of immorality that has subtly snuck into my daily life. If our lifestyles (the things we watch, the things we do) are not different, if we will not be a generation that chooses to pursue holiness and righteousness, how will we be able to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation? (Philippians 2:15)

So I do believe that the Lord is calling us to take up the breastplate of righteousness and buckle it on tight. There is a nationwide 40-day Daniel fast that is beginning Monday, March 1^st and I don’t think it could have come at a better time-especially for UCSD. I’m emphasizing a media fast because I do think that our spirits are in a need of cleansing. Our minds are in need of a clearing to hear the Lord better. And I do believe that as we fast and pray and as we go through this period of ‘cleansing’ and ‘detoxing’, the Lord will come, and He will come in power. To be clear, I am not saying to just fast and pray and disengage from what is happening in an attempt to purify ourselves. One of the points of this fast is to simply remove the things that hinder us from receiving more from the Lord. I think the Lord wants us to pray and fast alongside whatever other action he calls us to. The Lord wants to revive and awaken our campus! “If my people who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14. So pray, fast, and expect great things from our Mighty God.