The Daniel Fast for Spiritual Breakthrough

by Elmer L. Towns

Elmer Towns’ Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough has become must-reading as this powerful spiritual discipline of fasting has seen a revival among followers of Christ. Now Towns digs deeper into one of the most popular forms of fasting today, the Daniel Fast. With an emphasis on a healthy, simple diet, The Daniel Fast is named after the prophet Daniel who participated in a partial fast for spiritual purposes. Daniel was taken captive into Babylon when he was 16 years old. The Babylonian king wanted the young prophet to help him administer his rule over the captive Jews—and he wanted to “Babylon-ize” Daniel, to make the young man of God more like him. The first step the king took in his campaign was to provide a sumptuous feast to tempt Daniel—food fit for a king— basically fattening comfort foods. In response, the prophet refrained from the king’s table, choosing instead to eat only vegetables and to drink only water. He honored God over
the king. Dr. Elmer Towns introduces readers to the spiritual, physical and mental basics of the Daniel Fast, coaching them through either a 10-day or 21-day period of renewal, and he includes original Daniel Fast recipes created by executive chef John P. Perkins. Dr. Towns addresses practical questions, such as what to eat and when, as well as how to pray effectively. Readers will learn how to encounter God during their fast, how to worship through self-discipline and how to pray for specific answers. They will also explore the role of weeping, repentance and spiritual warfare in their life of faith. Daniel is a model to God’s people of someone who chooses spiritual nourishment over bodily satisfaction, in The Daniel Fast for Spiritual Breakthrough, God’s people can learn to follow his example.

Genres: Prayer, Nonfiction, Theology

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education. He began teaching at Midwest Bible College, St. Louis, Missouri, for three years and was not satisfied with his textbooks so he began writing his own (he has published over 100 books listed in the Library of Congress, 7 listed in the Christian Booksellers Best Selling List; several becoming accepted as college textbooks. He is also the 1995 recipient of the coveted Gold Medallion Award awarded by the Christian Booksellers Association for writing the Book of the Year, i.e., The Names of the Holy Spirit.

He was President of Winnipeg Bible College for five years, leading it to receive American Accreditation and Provincial authority to offer degrees (1960-1965). He taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in greater Chicago, Illinois, in the field of Religious Education and Evangelism (1965-1971).

He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty's existence. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.

Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.

His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Amanda Brown]

This book was given to me by a member of our corporate Fast. I really enjoyed this book, and found it very helpful with my Biblical Fast. It even has recipes in the back. I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of doing a Daniel Fast, which is the kind that I did.

[Tanya Shearin]

Elmer L. Towns is well-acquainted in practice and in exposition of the concept of incorporating fasting into one's regular lifestyle. In The Daniel Fast for Spiritual Breakthrough, Towns explains the purpose and value of fasting in the Christian life and, further, leads the reader on a 21-day Daniel Fast via 21 "devotionals" which encourage, enlighten, and inspire the participant to continue and remain faithful to the vow taken to complete the 21 day fast. I gave the book a 4 star rating only because I felt that the devotionals could have been better laid out so as to give greater support to the one engaged in fasting. The last day's devotion, for instance, talks about the vow to fast and how repeated steps of faith gain victory for the believer. In this same devotion, he states, "there comes a time when you must go beyond vision to action. There comes a time when you have to go public to tell everyone that you are fasting . . . " (p.167). Great encouragement, yes, but how much more encouraging would this have been on, say, Day 6 or 7, than on the final day of fasting. Other than the layout and some of the topics of the devotionals, I found the book to be the encouragement and focus I needed to complete my own 21-day fast. The Daniel Fast recipes in the appendix were also a tremendous help. These were recipes that could be easily done and did not require a ton of unusual ingredients.

[Diana Lamey]

Este libro fue una bendición, lo tenía hace tiempo, pero lo levanté y leí en un momento indicado, era justo lo que necesitaba. Habla de las formas de ayunar, da el por qué debemos ayunar como cristianos y tiene un devocional de 21 días. Al final del libro hasta incluye recetas de comidas sanas. Muy recomendado.

[Michelle]

While certain viewpoints in this book are not my cup of tea, it is well written and combines both the fast itself with devotions for 40 days

[Chuck]

Reviving the spiritual discipline of fasting

In this book, Elmer Towns gives the reasons to restore the neglected practice of fasting. Health reasons are cited, but the real reason is to infuse our prayers with God's power. I found myself wondering at times if this was a book about fasting or prayer. However, I soon realized that to the author, the two are inextricably entwined. There is no reason to try and separate them.

[Diana S]

One of the best books on fasting that I have ever read!!!

[George]

An amazing book if you really want to understand fasting from a biblical perspective. Not easy to start peeling away the layers that the book requires, and a fast requires, but transforming.

[Heidi Jo Kemp]

Great Biblical perspective in this amazing fast

[Jeff Smith]

Excellent book

The book by Elmer Towns was very insightful. A reminder of the purpose of fasting. Love how scriptures were used throughout.

[Chamique Holdsclaw]

This book really helped me stay focused during my fast.

[Annette]

Wonderful book!

This book is insightful and a reminder of the purpose of fasting. There are helpful guidelines and prayers included throughout.

[Sue Johnson]

Great book. Very informative.