Acts 13:1-3
English
Standard Version (ESV)
13 Now
there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who
was called Niger,[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend
of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping
the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting
and praying they laid their hands on them and sent
them off.
How often does
it happen that big decisions need to be made in the church and the church
gathers and prays about it? How often do
the church leaders devote their time together in worship, prayer, and fasting? It seems to me that there would be a lot less
strife in the church if we would practice this more often than we do.
There have been
times that I can remember that the church was called to nominate leaders and
would be told about it two weeks in advance in order that the church could be
in prayer over the matter. However, more
times than not, I would forget about it until time to write a name down. Chances are, I am not the only one guilty of
such actions.
It seems today
that we must have food and drink whenever we meet as a church. Rather than taking the time to simply worship
our Lord and Savior through prayer and fasting.
This passage makes me wonder what the church could have looked like had
this practice been passed down from generation to generation. Would we have so many denominations and
churches from said denominations, if we would have just practiced worshipping,
prayer, and fasting? Perhaps so, God may have intended to spread
His word through divisions in the church as we will see later in Acts. However, He never intended there to be a lack
of worship, prayer, and fasting.
As you seek Him
may you remember that worship, prayer, and fasting are key elements in your
communication with Him.
Seeking Him with
all my heart,
Sheila
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