Carlos made the above graphic from Sunday’s sermon. I appreciate it very much. He has given us a very useful tool. Please grab it, screenshot it, print it, or whatever you can do and put it in a place where you can refer back to it.
Developing holy habits in the six areas represented by D-A-N-I-E-L will set you free from many bad anxieties and will yield so much good fruit in your life that you’ll hardly be able to believe it. Hebrews 11:6 says that God “rewards those who seek Him.” So, set aside a certain period of time for a D-A-N-I-E-L fast, perhaps 10 days, 30 days, or 100 days, whatever you think you can do and whatever it will take for you to form better habits of holiness.
D is for diet. Read Daniel 1 and commit to eliminating a few unhealthy food or drink choices from your life.
A is for A-C-T-S prayer. Commit to running through these progressions (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) every day before you fall asleep. Maybe you do so each night when you lay your head on your pillow.
N is for No sin. Think about any habits you have that do not please God. Don’t try to change everything bad about yourself at once. Instead, pick one thing and set your face like flint to eliminate that habit entirely from your life for the duration of the D-A-N-I-E-L fast.
I is for Immerse. Read at least one passage of Scripture per day. Don’t just check the box; sit there with it. Immerse yourself in it. Soak it in. Really think about what it means and pray about how God wants you to apply it.
E is for Exercise. Nike is right about this one: Just do it. Allow yourself no excuse. The days of the D-A-N-I-E-L fast are not too long. Simply commit to exercising 6 days a week (or perhaps make a less ambitious decision, 3-5 days a week). Just don’t give yourself any excuse for not doing what you’ve set your mind to do.
L is for Love. Intentionally say something kind to someone in your life that needs some love. Do this every day. Watch the dynamic between you and this person change over the course of time.
If you do a 100-day D-A-N-I-E-L fast, you can rest assured that you will notice that your life has improved in noticeable ways. That’s not to say everything will be sunshine and roses. Circumstances external to your own walk with God will still ebb and flow, but the D-A-N-I-E-L fast is sure to give you a closer walk with God. You’ll see problems resolve. You’ll feel more joy in the Lord and have less of the bad anxieties.
Developing these holy habits is not a matter of theoretical agreement with each of the points. Rather, you have to see not only the finish line but the steps it will take to get there. So, take fifteen minutes right now to put reminders in your phone. If you use a calendar app, actually schedule the what and when of the plan. It’s up to you to make an attainable plan. You can do it.
People all around us are anxious about many things. But few people are “anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit” (1 Corinthians 7:34). Decide right now to be more anxious about developing these habits of holiness.
