Subject: what does it mean to fast |
Bible Note: Doc, I believe the passage is saying that temporary marital sexual deprivation by mutual consent between a husband and wife can be an adjunct to fasting. It can, in other words, be joined or added to fasting and prayer without becoming a part of it. Fasting is one entity, prayer is one entity, sexual abstinence is one entity. They all of them can be observed separately or they can be observed simultaneously, but they are not the same things and are not interdependent on one another. And, yes, I think it's fairly safe to say that there may well be a synergistic effect in combining fasting, prayer, and sexual abstinence. --Hank |