So, as Baba Adeboye declared 100 days of fasting and prayer, RCCG pastors’ wives will not get pregnant in these 100 days? Dey play o. They will invite you for naming from October.
Bishop Oyedepo said he fasted for a whole year. You think He wasn’t meeting his wife at that time, right?
Kenneth Hagin started living a fasted life at some point. So, you think he stopped meeting with his wife too?
Some would say, “You can meet but before the fasting starts (before 9 am) and after you break”. Who set the rules? YOUR FASTING, YOUR RULES. One may say, I will be taking water while fasting, another would say he doesn’t want to take water. Or I want to take hot tea in the morning. One would say, my fasting is 6 am to 6 pm. Another would say, my own is 12midnight to 12noon. Again, your fasting, your rules, God didn’t set any rule for anyone.
Another said: “But we must deny ourselves of pleasure”. IS IT YOUR PLEASURE OR MY PLEASURE? Someone said he wanted to do without phones during his fast. Another said he wanted to do without going out. Just the same way, another can say this fasting of mine includes or excludes intercourse.
People talk about strength and energy- it takes more energy to change your car tyres than to copulate with your spouse. However, check your health and strength before including sexual intercourse within your fast. But you can comfortably have it in the early hours or after you break. That’s an advice, not a rule. “Your fasting, your rules”.
1 Corinthians 7:5.
[5]Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
Cogent things from the passage: This passage is more about concentration. If (not a must or the rule), if you want to avoid distraction that comes with sexual intercourse during your retreat time then, get your spouse’s consent. Some of you go to work, watch movies, hang out with friends and eat food which are bigger distractions but you feel you shouldn’t meet with your spouse.
The passage also states that It must be brief. Not like 100 days. Not even 10 days. Brief here should be within 3 days to 5 days or most, 7 days (or based on agreement and mutual understanding). So, God is not expecting someone going on 30 days fast to not meet with their partner for 30 days.
There’s no end to denying oneself during a fast whether in terms of food, duration, activities and intercourse, it is as far as you can go but all things remain OPTIONAL and based on WISDOM.
In our case, we do without it during the hours or days (in terms of a marathon) of our fast mainly because of concentration and strength. We can also choose to do otherwise if need be, we are not under a compulsion.