Passage Read: Acts 14-15
Meditation Verses: 15:19-20
Thought
There is an interesting contrast that jumps out to me in these two chapters. Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in each city where they preached and made disciples, and they do so "having prayed with fasting." Then they get back to Antioch, and some Jewish believers start this whole debate about circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses. And it generates a huge debate. Yet, there's no mention of prayer or fasting in the process, just people arguing back and forth. In the end, James makes a recommendation, and that is adopted as the official position of the whole church. "It seemed good to us, having become one mind," and "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us," yet there is no mention of prayer or fasting. Faith in God is a spiritual thing, but it is not just prayer and fasting to make decisions, there is also reasoning and debating based on clear revelation from God. Yet it is also not merely an intellectual thing. It is just as important to deliberately involve and seek the Holy Spirit in all matters of faith, especially when appointing leadership over His people.
Application
I naturally gravitate toward the intellectual. I want to see and know what the Scriptures say and do my best to apply them in my everyday life. I rarely pray with fasting over significant decisions; I would rather watch and evaluate with my own heart and eyes, trusting that the Lord will impress on me the decision that needs to be made. That may not be the worst way to go, but how much better if I deliberately sought out the Lord and His will with prayer and fasting. Especially as I face a significant decision in the coming days.