“Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command. But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.”
1 Corinthians 7:5-7 NLT
We remember that this chapter started with a question from the Corinthian believers to Paul about sexual ethics, which even floated, as a possible answer, the concept of celibacy. Paul went on to discuss the subject of marriage and how sexual relations should apply in that context, and he expanded on his theme by saying that the married couple, the husband and wife, should “not deprive each other of sexual relations”, but with one caveat, unless they mutually “agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so [they] can give [themselves] more completely to prayer”. This shows that even the closest human bond must at times give way to seeking God. But Paul warns: don’t stay apart too long, lest temptation creep in. Satan looks for moments of weakness, although unity in marriage protects against this.
The refraining from sexual relations is a form of fasting, which is the voluntary abstention from food or other pleasures for spiritual purposes, aimed at deepening one’s relationship with God, although Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, though, the Bible presents fasting as something good, profitable, and beneficial. We see how this is beneficial with Scriptures such as Acts 13:2, “One day as these men were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them””. Another Scripture about prayer and fasting is in Acts 14:23, “Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust”. Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37, “Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshipping God with fasting and prayer), but too often the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take our eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.
In 1 Corinthians 7:5, Paul didn’t mention fasting particularly, highlighting prayer as the reason for an abstention from sexual relations, but implicit within the verse is the principle of fasting. We pilgrims should perhaps widen our perspective to include all types of fasting, not just food, but in the process, it is God who leads and guides us. In the end, it is all about Him, not us.
Dear Father God. We want to please You and spend more time with You at every opportunity. Please lead and guide us, we pray, so that all we do is to Your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 