"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed ..." (Acts 13:1- 4a)Fasting and prayer are doctrinal twins, and are to be a part of the preparation that the Lord's people engage themselves in as they make ready to serve Him, and to be used of Him in what ever calling He calls them to. This is a Bible doctrine, and it is applicable in this present age, as evidenced by the instance recorded in the New Testament in Acts as we have cited. It is required that the Lord's people be taught and led to practice these truths, both as individual believers and as members of one of the Lord's true New Testament churches. This doctrine does apply to disciples today.
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:28-31).Our weakness is compensated by His supply. And it is not a matter of "me and God". Rather, it is a matter of His children drawing on His strength, as we are enabled to realize that He alone is the source of all good things. He alone supplies our need as we lean hard on Him and drink at His spring, and feast at His table. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13) "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." (James 1:5,6)And then, he brings this charge against them:
"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:2-3)Jesus Himself, said to His disciples, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7) Clearly, Jesus is instructing His disciples in faithful abiding. He is assuring them that if they abide in Him, and His words abide in them, THEN, they may ask what they will, and they shall receive accordingly. The implication is also crystal clear that where there is no abiding, there is no assurance of receiving. Disciples are responsible to abide (continue) and to keep the teaching of His words, if they are to expect any blessing. "And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46)
"Hear, 0 Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)