Prayer Root Ministries -> Praying through Scripture -> The Gospel of Mark -> Mark 2
Scripture (ESV)
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”
Prayer Root: Word to Prayer
Heavenly Father,
You said that the day would come when the Bridegroom would be taken away, and then Your people would fast. Lord, today we fast—not out of ritual, but out of reverence. We fast to glorify You, to remember You, to draw near to You in prayer, and to magnify Your Kingdom on this earth. We fast to cleanse our hearts—to remove negativity, to break the hold of hatred, and to turn away from sin that separates us from You.
Lord, You also said that no one patches an old garment with a new cloth, nor pours new wine into old wineskins. In the same way, when I am renewed through baptism and faith in Christ, You clothe me in a new life and fill me with a renewed heart and mind through Your Spirit. The old has passed away, and the new has come through You.
Heavenly Father, I pray to you that You help me to live in that newness daily—to walk in purity, obedience, and self-control. Let my fast be not only of food but of pride, anger, and distraction. Teach me to hunger and thirst for Your righteousness, to keep my heart steadfast on You, and to let my spirit be wholly renewed in Your love and truth.
Rooted in prayer, rejoicing in Christ.