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Fasting

    • 1 posts
    September 13, 2015 9:09 AM EDT

    I always wondered about this. Fasting. I am a diabetic. I need to use my insulin and eat 3-5 times daily. How is someone that has diabetes to fast when they need to eat to survive? Thanks ahead for your answer(s).

    • 275 posts
    September 13, 2015 11:27 AM EDT

    Hi Karen! Do you think a Daniel fast would work for you? We like to do that once a year and it's not nearly as difficult. Basically, it's vegan :).

     

    Also, if you've never fasted, just start small. It's not a good idea to go off on a 40-day fast on your first try.


    This post was edited by Sylvia Todd at September 13, 2015 11:28 AM EDT
    • Moderator
    • 137 posts
    September 13, 2015 12:07 PM EDT

    Hi Karen, as a diabetic you will have to be careful with your food but like Sylvia said, a vegan diet may be fine and even healthier than normal. I feel that everyone can do some type of fast and it is all valid. Abstaining from something that you enjoy and then using that time to intentionally seek the Lord is the core idea of fasting.

     

    Daniel 10:2 Daniel did a twenty-one day vegan type fast where he “ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” We do this fast sometimes and find it refreshing. We eat salads, vegetables, fruits and nuts along with water. After a few weeks we have a sharper mind, feel better and our spiritual ears are restored. It is a completely valid fast from the Bible that almost anyone can do. Daniel considered not anointing himself with oil a part of his fast also, so that broadens the area of fasting a lot.


    Typically for us we do a Daniel fast and eat vegetables, fruit and nuts, or a juice fast where we live off only water and vegetable juice. Straight water is a great fast but if you go very long and work, you will have no energy at all. Still, this is the way that I fasted when I was younger.

    I know some people that fast from reality television because it means that much to them. I believe that you can give up anything for a while as a fast, but replace that time with something that will draw you closer to God. Everyone has something they like, that they can give up for a while. I often fast from gaming during my fasts and use that time to seek God by reading the Bible or journaling instead. I know people that fast from television. Everyone can do some type of fast and it is all valid. Abstaining from something that you enjoy and then using that time to intentionally seek the Lord is the core idea of fasting.

    • 1 posts
    January 31, 2016 8:11 PM EST

    I found this very helpful, thank you.  For several years I've wondered how to bridge the fasting topic with my diabetes.