And when they had fasted and prayed. — The repetition of the words that had been used in Acts 13:2 seems to imply that the fast was prolonged till the laying-on of hands had been completed. The new command called for that intensity of spiritual life of which fasting was more or less the normal condition.
And laid their hands on them. — See Note on Acts 6:6. This was, as before, the formal act by which the Church attested its acceptance of the divine mission of those on whom hands were laid, and implored for them the divine blessing.