Acts 13 "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabus, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manean who had been brought up with Herod the tetrach, and Saul.
And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabus and Saul for the work to which I have called them."Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So being sent out by the Holy Spirit they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus."
It's very interesting that it was while the prophets and teachers were gathered together and after they had fasted, that while they ministered unto the Lord, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me, Barnabus and Saul.' We can take our leading from the habits of the early church. They must have been in need of some direction if they had been fasting, because fasting is an act of the person wanting to put everything else aside and therefore make themselves more sensitive to the voice of God within.
It was also during a time that the Word says 'they ministered unto the Lord'. What does it mean to 'minister unto the Lord'? It means to purpose to spend time loving Him, exalting Him, bringing Him glory through worship and praise. The attitude of our heart during that time is not about receiving from Him, but about bringing adoration and praise to Him for Who He is and for all He has done. It must please Him so much that He would chose that time for Him to speak to us. What a wonderful Father, that while we minister unto Him, in His heart of hearts He is always a GIVER and desires to give unto us direction for our lives.
If we are needing direction, we never have to walk around blindly, hoping that we make the right decision about things which pertain to our lives. Remember that we have the Greater One on the inside! The Holy Spirit is our Teacher and He will teach us all things (Jn.14:26, 1 Jn. 2:20). Purpose to spend some time ministering to the Lord today. It will bring Him glory and put us in the proper position to receive all He wants us to know.
