Re:Verse passage – Mark 2:18-22 (day four)
Fasting and prayer are a method to focus our undivided attention on God and to discover His perspective or direction. The Pharisees fasted because it was part of the law…they did it out of legalistic following of the law of Moses. They had no desire to really know the mind of God. They already knew (or thought they knew!) how God’s plan would work out and that a military leader, the Messiah, would come and free Israel from the oppression of Rome. John’s disciples, on the other hand, fasted because they were truly looking for the Messiah. They had not yet recognized that Jesus was who they were looking for, so they continued to search. They thought it was John, but John said no.
Jesus’ disciples recognized Him as God’s Son. They did not have to ask God to direct them, they just had to listen to Jesus. The time would come when they would fast and pray, but not while Jesus was with them. Where are you? Are you ignoring…are you seeking…have you found…are you serving?
