Subject: Porn in spouse overcome thru fasting? |
Bible Note: Hi, bandaid... The commands of Ephesians 6 arise out the doctrine as expressed in the first three chapters of the epistle. If you look closely, you'll not see anything there that states that prayer and fasting operate like talismans. God's power is manifest in the outworking of His eternal purpose (Ephesians 1:19-23). Making dead men alive (v2:1), God is accomplishing His preordained work (vv1:4, 2:10). Note that it doesn't say anything about doing all these things because we pray or fast. You've built a causal connection based on an improper exegesis of two passages recounting the same incident (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29). This is one of your erroneous presuppositions... probably based in some sort of Word of Faith teaching somewhere. Always remember that every word is expressed in the context of a sentence, every sentence in the context of a passage, and every passage in the context of a book. Ephesians is a particularly easy example of this. There are some 32 imperative statements in the book. All of them are in the last three chapters! If you don't get a handle on the theology as expressed in all the indicatives of the first three chapters, you'll simply generate incorrect theology. It is a common trap people fall into these days. Prayer and fasting don't manipulate God. Rather, they are expressions of faith, love, and dependence in God by those whom He has saved. By the way, I think that your particular issue may be better served by passages like 1 Peter 3:1-6 and Titus 2:3-5. As you pursue sanctification -- giving rise to a godly character that expresses devotion to the the Lord in prayer and fasting -- God will use your current circumstances to conform you to the image of His Son (Hebrews 12:1-11). This is where you can exercise that free will you keep mentioning. Discipline yourself to work in the direction of what God has already accomplished. Who knows, but that our Lord will work out His will for your husband, as you "lead the life that the Lord has assigned to you, and to which God has called you" (1 Corinthians 7:17). We can only offer up what the Lord has taught us. Unfortunately we can't offer quick and easy solutions. Understanding the Word takes sweat. However, as has already been mentioned, we can and will be praying that God will be greatly glorified in and through these difficult circumstances. Perhaps you will be kind enough to be in prayer for the struggles -- revealed or not -- with which the rest of us are dealing. In Him, Doc |