1 Corinthians 7:1-5

[Hidden In Him]

Prayer And Fasting: Keys To Greater Spiritual Authority In Christ
     
     Now we come to yet another one of those passages I believe gets clouded over by inaccurate translation. Paul begins Chapter Seven of First Corinthians by saying it is "good for a man not to touch a woman," which is usually taken to mean it is better for unmarried Christians to remain single rather than marry. While Paul certainly teaches this later on in the Chapter, as I will explain in a moment, the subject matter being addressed here was not actually single Christians but married ones, and whether they should be refraining from having sexual relations with one another or not.
     What is not widely known is that the words "man" and "woman" can just as easily be translated "husband" and "wife," with the immediate context being the only determining factor. And since the rest of the passage clearly deals with married Christians not single ones, the passage in its entirety should actually read as follows:

     But concerning the things you wrote to me about, it is good for a husband not to touch a wife intimately. Yet because of sexual immorality, let each husband have sexual relations with his own wife and each wife have sexual relations with her own husband. Let the husband render due benevolence unto the wife, and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife has no authority over her own body but the husband, and likewise also the husband has no authority over his own body but the wife. Do not deprive one another except it be by consent for a season, that you may be unoccupied for the sake of engaging in fasting and prayer, and then come together again that Satan not tempt you because of your incontinence. (1 Corinthians 7:1-5)

     Part of the confusion here stems from the verb "to have," which can have sexual connotations in Greek, such as when Paul earlier discussed a man who was "having" his father's wife. To "have" in that context meant the man was having sexual relations with his step-mother. Thus, the phrase "let each man have his own wife, and each wife her own husband" likewise meant that they should continue having sexual relations and not deprive one another of it.
     But why would the Corinthians even be asking such a question? It appears that some of the married believers among them wanted to know if they should be engaging in fasting and prayer, even if that meant spending less time together intimately. Fasting and Prayer were being practiced in the early church, but these disciplines came with a down side for married couples: Fasting decreased the sex drive, especially in men, which meant it would lessen the amount of time they could spend having intercourse. It's why Paul replied that if a couple determined to fast, they should do so only for a time and only by agreement, then come back together again lest the Devil tempt them, and one spouse potentially get seduced into committing adultery because the other partner deprived them of sex for too long.
     I provided some quotes in a previous study demonstrating how the ancients believed very clearly that fasting lessened the sex drive, but it needs to be understood that this was not just some ancient theory that had no basis in fact. Studies have been done in more recent times which have proven it to be the case. The effectiveness of John Cassian's fasting regimen in decreasing the sex drive was put to the test back in the 1940s by researchers at the University of Minnesota, led by Aline Rousselle. As Teressa Shaw explained in her work, The Burden Of The Flesh:

     John Cassian, Jerome, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Ancyra all understood the benefits of ascestic fasting to include the slowing of the processes that lead to sexual desire. Aline Rousselle demonstrated that modern research on the effects of food deprivation confirms the ancient theory to some extent... One of the marked and common effects of prolonged food deprivation - in the Minnesota experiment as well as numerous studies of starving populations in war or famine - is a weakening or loss of sexual desire and activity. The researchers at Minnesota found that by the end of the twenty-four weeks of semi-starvation "sexual feeling and expression … were virtually extinguished in all but a few of the subjects." They also report that "masturbation and nocturnal emissions ceased or were greatly reduced in frequency. Sex fantasies and sex dreams were reported to have decreased in number, and when present they were much attenuated." During the rehabilitation period, the sex drive returned only very slowly. The researchers attributed the decrease in sexual desire in starvation or semi-starvation in part to the body's own "adaptive mechanisms protecting the individual organism from nonessential energy expenditure." Experiment results also showed a marked decrease in the production and excretion of male sex hormones (ketosteroids) as well as a reduction in semen volume and changes in its morphology. (Teresa Shaw, The Burden Of The Flesh, P.126)

     Returning to our passage, the question being asked of Paul then was essentially this: "Is it good for Christian husbands and wives to refrain from sexual contact with one another to give themselves to fasting and prayer or not?" to which Paul responded, "Yes, but because of the potential for infidelity, married couples should only fast when it is by agreement, and only for a set amount of time."
     Of what benefit, then, would fasting and prayer have been to early Christian couples, such that they would be willing to forego intimacy? This is where you get into another subject few teach on these days, and that is the value prayer and fasting has in attaining greater spiritual authority from God, especially via the granting of greater supernatural gifts. As Paul will state later in this teaching, "Each man has his own gift," and being able to have sexual intimacy with a husband or wife is certainly a wonderful gift of God. But there were spiritual gifts that also lay in wait for those willing to pay the price for them in fasting and prayer, and for those whose eyes were set on receiving greater rewards in eternity, even the teachings of Jesus Himself suggested these were practices that were well worth engaging in.


Scriptures On The Rewards Of Prayer & Fasting

     Though not often recognized as such, Jesus taught very clearly that prayer and fasting would be rewarded with the power of God to move in signs and wonders, healings and miracles. He taught this early in the Sermon on the Mount, in discussing the coming of the kingdom of God. As He would tell the disciples:

     When you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, that they may be seen of men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open. (Matthew 6:5-6)

     Two verses later, Jesus gave them an example of what they should be praying for specifically, telling them not to pray for mundane things like earthly needs, but for the kingdom of God to be made manifest on earth:

     Your Father knows what things you have need of before you ask Him. Therefore, pray like this: "Our Father who is in Heaven, Holy is your name. Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day the bread we need, and forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors also, and lead us not into trials but deliver us from the Evil one, for Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, unto the end of the ages." (Matthew 6:8b-13)

     From start to finish, this prayer encapsulated what the apostles as soldiers of Christ needed to be praying daily. The opening request was for the coming of the kingdom of God, which as I will demonstrate in a moment meant praying for the supernatural power of God to be made manifest in their lives. But manifestations of the power of God have throughout history always brought retaliation from the enemy, and this is why they needed to end with requests that He not lead him into trials and persecution but deliver them from the Evil one.
     How do we know the coming of the kingdom would be associated with manifestations of the supernatural power of God? Because this is clearly implied in His teaching in Luke Chapter 10. As Jesus would tell the disciples before sending them out with the power of the Holy Spirit:
 
     "Into whatever city you might enter and they receive you, eat the things set before you, and heal the sick in it, saying unto them, 'The kingdom of God has drawn close to you.' And into whatever city you might enter and they receive you not... I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom in that day than for that city. Woe unto you, Chorazin! Woe unto you, Bethsaida! For if the works of supernatural power had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ashes and sackcloth"... And returning, the seventy said with joy, "Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through Your name!" (Luke 10:8-17)

     From this passage it becomes clear that the coming of the kingdom of God was associated with healings, miracles, and the casting out of demons. In Matthew 12 Jesus likewise told the Pharisees:

     "If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, then by whom do your sons cast them out? On this account they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:27-28)

     In teaching on prayer, Jesus also promised the disciples that just as they knew how to give good gifts to their children, their Heavenly Father would give them the empowerment of the Holy Spirit if they prayed to Him persistently for it:

     Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him bread because of friendship, yet because of his persistence he will surely get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. If a son will ask bread of any of you who is a father, will he give him a stone?... If therefore, you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" (Luke 11:5-13)

     In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the disciples that unlike the Pharisees they should pray in secret rather than on the public streets, and that if they did so the Lord would reward them "in the open." In other words, all the Pharisees would receive for putting on a performance was mere religious recognition, but those who prayed in secret would receive a far greater reward from the Father in having the power of God manifest through them supernaturally, and that this reward would manifest "in the open" before all. 
     And what else did Jesus say would bring such rewards from God? Fasting. As He added not a few verses later:

     And when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you in the open. (Matthew 6:16-18)

     Thus, the same things He said about prayer applied to fasting, which is why both working together in tandem made for a powerful combination. Prayer and Fasting would bring rewards from God in the form of supernatural empowerment, so long as they were not doing either simply to be seen by men.


Modern Witnesses To The Power Of Prayer & Fasting

     Two of the strongest proponents of fasting in modern times have been Derek Prince and Mahesh Chavda. Prince mentored Chavda, so both taught essentially the same thing on the subject. I will quote Derek Prince below on how Jesus was set forth as our example even in fasting, and that those wishing to walk in the power of the Spirit of God will have to emulate the same steps He took in order to get it:

     Here’s the account in Luke 4:1–2: “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days and at the end of them he was hungry”... Now, I want you to notice the result of the fasting in the life of Jesus. It’s stated in Luke 4:14: “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.” There’s a very significant difference in the two phrases used. When Jesus went into the desert, it says He was “full of the Holy Spirit,” but when He returned from the desert after forty days of fasting it says He went “in the power of the Spirit.” In other words, it’s one thing to be full of the Spirit, it’s another thing to be in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit was there from the time of His baptism onwards, but it was His fasting that released the power of the Holy Spirit to flow without hindrance through His life and ministry. Again, I believe this is a pattern for us.
     Let me remind you of the words that Jesus Himself said later in John 14:12: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do: because I go to the Father.” (Derek Prince, Fasting Practiced By Jesus)

     Mahesh Chavda taught the same thing in The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting, and both not only taught it but demonstrated it in the field. Multiple testimonies could be shared here for each, for Prince was a powerful deliverance minister and Chavda a powerful evangelist. Due to limited space I will quote a little of Chavda's testimony. Speaking with regard to one of his evangelistic campaigns in Africa, Mahesh had this to say about one of his more extraordinary manifestations of God's power during that trip:

     Some years ago I traveled to Central Africa, to Kinshasa, the capital city of Zaire. Upon arrival, I found myself in the middle of a mighty visitation of God. Night after night I saw miracle after miracle as thousands of Africans came forward and placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The crowds grew in size every night until, by Friday, attendance exceeded 130,000. That night, the local pastors who had been working with me said, “Brother Mahesh, this is a weeknight. The main crowds will come on the weekend.”
     The next morning, I heard the Lord say to me, “Tonight you will do a mass deliverance service.”
     “But Lord,” I protested, “tonight is when the biggest crowd will be coming!” I still remembered the time when Brother Derek Prince and I had held a mass deliverance service for 10,000 people. In that part of Africa, strongholds of witchcraft were so powerful that when we took authority in the name of Jesus, a couple hundred people fell down and started writhing like snakes and coming toward us. God miraculously delivered them. Now, years later, here I was with a crowd more than ten times larger.
     The Lord told me again, “Tonight you will do a mass deliverance service.”
     “Lord,” I replied, “if I do that, thousands of demons will manifest and we will be out of control!” I was all alone, with no trained staff to help me. A few local pastors were assisting me, but they were not trained in deliverance ministry.
     I asked, “How can You do this, Lord? I’m all alone.”
     He answered, “Tonight, hundreds of sorcerers will come and confront you.”
     This wasn’t getting any better. I felt like saying, “Thanks a lot! I wish You had never told me!”
     You have to understand that these African sorcerers are not the type who just play with Ouija boards or give astrological signs to people. They are the kind of sorcerers who place curses on people, and those people actually die. According to some, these sorcerers can supposedly change forms at night, and they are known to eat human flesh regularly. Far beyond your “garden-variety” sorcerer, these necromancers are completely devoted to the forces of evil and darkness. Because they have given themselves over to Satan, they possess demonic powers.
     And now hundreds of them were going to confront me? Again I tried to reason with God. “Lord, I’m all alone here, and You really want me to hold a deliverance service to cast demons out of thousands of people?”
     The Lord said, “This night I am sending you to break the yoke of witchcraft over this nation”...
     That evening, approximately 800 sorcerers from all over that region of Africa were among the tens of thousands gathered in that place. Although scattered throughout the crowd, they were easy enough to identify. Their bone necklaces and strange manner of dress set them apart from everybody else.
     The local African pastors came to me in fear and said, “These sorcerers are putting their curses upon us and upon the service! What should we do?”
     “Let them do it,” I replied.
     It is very difficult to describe, but as I began that night, I realized that I had walked into a highly-charged spiritual atmosphere. It was almost as though I could see the blood of Jesus Christ all around me. As I stood up to speak, something exploded inside me, and I said, “I know you are out there, all you sorcerers, and I want you to know that I am not afraid of you. Not one person here tonight needs to be afraid of the powers of darkness. Listen to me, sorcerers. I am not afraid of you, and I am not afraid of your demons. Tonight, God has shown me that one drop of the blood of Jesus Christ can destroy the kingdom of Satan!”
     As the Lord had promised, it was a true revelation for me. That night we bound the powers of darkness, and God brought a mighty deliverance. I said, “In the name of Jesus, I bind you demon spirits who have oppressed this people for centuries. I break that yoke of witchcraft. I release this people.” Even as I prayed, thousands of demons began manifesting. People fell to the ground. Sick bodies were healed, and blind eyes were opened. Many people who were involved in witchcraft renounced their sorcery. In addition to the miraculous physical healings, masses of people were transformed spiritually by the power of the blood of Jesus. The sorcerers’ powers were bound. The local pastors rushed up to me excitedly and said, “Brother Mahesh, we believe that as many as 25,000 people have given their lives to Jesus Christ tonight!” (Mahesh Chavda, 800 Sorcerers Delivered By A Drop Of Jesus' Blood, Destiny Image.com)

     Speaking about another experience in the Congo, Mahesh related the following account as well:

     I was doing an evangelistic crusade in the city if Kananga in the Congo. It's a city of great spiritual warfare, in fact, one of the chief schools of sorcery was in the city of Kananga... When I did that evangelistic crusade, a lot of the sorcerers got together and were doing some ceremonies under what is called "the Sorcerer's Tree." Under that big tree they would have facilitation to do incantations, curse people, etc, etc. So they cursed my meeting, and at that time I was on the other side of Kananga, and the Lord said, "The witchcraft is strong. The sorcerers are gathered together and are cursing your meeting. Release the power of the Holy Spirit." So I said, "I am speaking to every principality, every evil spirit, and I command the spirit of witchcraft to be bound, and I release the power of the Holy Spirit. Come, Holy Spirit!" And as I spoke, fire came from the sky, and burned the Sorcerers Tree from the top down... We have a picture of the Tree. It burned from the top down, and it burned the eyes of the sorcerers. Then the sorcerers came and gave their lives to Jesus Christ, and asked me to pray for their eyes - I mean the eyes had almost boiled - and I blessed them and they received Jesus, and their eyes were healed. (Mahesh Chavda, Prayer & Fasting, Vimeo)

     Anyone interested in learning more can purchase their published material or search through videos on the subject. I point these stories in particular out because they do an excellent job of demonstrating how the kingdom of God wages war with the kingdom of darkness when His people give themselves to fasting and prayer, and how God's power delivers captive souls from the power of evil as a result. It is one of the greatest benefits - if not THEE greatest - of fasting and prayer, and why Paul would therefore be encouraging even married couples to give themselves to it whenever possible. As he would tell the Corinthians in a later Chapter, they needed to be seeking the greater gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31), and the same is still true of us today.


Links to sources:
https://www.derekprince.com/radio/162
https://www.destinyimage.com/blog/mahesh-chavda-800-sorcerers-delivered-by-a-drop-of-jesus-blood
https://vimeo.com/453327892