Holy Apostle James, Brother of Saint John the Theologian (c. 44).
Polyeleos Feast.
Acts 12:25-13:12. Acts 12:1-11. John 8:51-59. Luke 5:1-11.
Read Acts 12:25-13:12
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
When was the last time you had to make an important, life-changing decision?
What were some of the ways you came to your decision? Perhaps you weighed your options, maybe you wrote out a list of pros and cons, and also consulted with family and friends. As Christians, it seems natural to take these decisions to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to guide our decisions. But a tool I find myself often overlooking when having to make an important decision is to combine my prayer with fasting.
Today we read about the ordinations of Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. We learned that the Church had decided to ordain these men because they both took the time to take their decision to prayer and they strengthened it with fasting.
How might fasting strengthen our prayer life? There are numerous spiritual benefits to fasting; today we’ll just touch on one of them. When we unite our prayers with fasting, we are deliberately practising humility. By denying ourselves a small amount of food, we are physically reminded by the feelings of hunger in our stomachs that we must rely on God to sustain us. As human beings made in the image and likeness of God, we are both physical and spiritual beings. Thus by fasting, the physical act of denying ourselves a little bit of food, and the spiritual act of conversing with God in prayer are united according to how God had created us and intended us to live.
I invite you the next time you need to make an important decision, to take it both to prayer and offer up some small sacrifice such as having only a small meal. Reminding you that God is the one who provides every good thing and uniting yourself to Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, and the joy of the Resurrection.