What is the advice you'd give for someone who is going through a "dry season", that pertains but is not limited to: low spiritual desire, falls easier into distractions, lack in high or even common zeal, lower or lack of extreme discernment. ?
Advice for Dry Seasons/Walking In The Desert
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Travelers.Soul
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I would say keep praying, reading Scripture, going to Church, etc. I would also suggest reading "When I Don't Desire God" by John Piper.
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JCFantasy23
In a Kingdom by the Sea.
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Keep praying and spending time with God, many go through ups and downs.
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Goodbook
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I think of the dry season is when you die to yourself and you putting out roots in search of nourishment. They may have to go really deep to find that living water, but its there.
Remember God gives the growth.
Remember God gives the growth.
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Some refer to these as wilderness experiences, pruning, or valleys. As Goodbook said, they're to help us to grow spiritually. One purpose is so we will do self examination. Sometimes things will be revealed that we need to take care of and sometimes there needs to be repentance and/or forgiveness of Yahweh and/or others.. Also, it makes us rely on Yahweh more such as He is our rock (Psa 71:3). We also realize more about His Word because some Scriptures will take on deeper meaning during these times such as I Thess 5:18 "In every thing give thanks:.." These times aren't easy and last for varying lengths. As dreaminoffireland said, just keep on believing in Him, examining yourself, praying, reading His Word, thanking Him, hallowing His name, etc. After this period, the end result will be - you will be even stronger in Him.
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First I'd try to locate the root cause. Sometimes it can be big, sometimes small. Sometimes it can seem to be totally unrelated to your spiritual life. It may be buried so far under the surface that it's hard to see -- and you have to be able to see something before you can assign causality to it. And so I'd ask, what has happened (or have you been spending your time differently) between the time things were fine and the present time?
It may also be the Spirit convicting you that it's time to get onto a different path. I know from personal experience that if I'm doing something with my time that used to satisfy me and consume all my attention, but whatever that is suddenly goes stale, it's typically a sign that the spiritual food I was picking up along that path has been exhausted, and that I have other work that's been assigned to me. I've had to reconnoiter and then backtrack onto a different road several times in my life.
(BTW, I've seen the same thing happen to people who've exhausted what little energy and spiritual food exists in the dead churches they attend and in the dead congregations they sit with. If that's the case with you, then get up and walk.)
The spirit-filled life of a believer never runs in a straight line. It always zig-zags. My guess is that this is intentional -- so you'll pick up experiences that you can carry forward and that will enable you to establish sympathetic connections with other people and (therefore) to serve as a more-credible witness.
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A slope. I actually recall a moment in time probably a month or two ago where I was crying because I actually felt my desires fading. It wasn't,of course, a one day ecstatic! and the next day drained! ...so.. it's over that course. Before hand I had a zeal that I doubt any man could break. My mind was focused on Him the majority of the day. If I was awake..let's say...10 hours a day..I was focusing on Him at least 8 hours worth...that's a bit of an understatement. Now?...let's say it's 10 hours a day that I'm awake...I probably only focus on Him about 5 hours worth...maybe less.. I constantly have the "ehh..I'll do it later." kind of thing and when I was a zealous, if I had that thought or feeling you can bet anything that I'd be thinking about it or running to the nearest bathroom or my bedroom to pray about it and then maybe later make a post about it here or go onto some Christian chat website like Groundwire. Now I get those kind of thoughts and it's like a semi-confident - raising your finger and saying "Wait." and then going over, like digging in a pile of "this is what I believe" "this isn't". I haven't been reading much of the Bible, I must say. And a part of me is ashamed of that...but...I just...need to get out of this mess... :/
uuuuuuuuuuuhm... erm.... I... don't necessarily know what to say or ask or do...
yeah..haha. That's true.
...intentional..?
Uhm..
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BFine
Seed Planter
Make connections with mature Christians
in your area who can come alongside you
and walk you out of the "wilderness".
You need some prayer warriors going to
bat for you. Add in: Mature Christian advisors who
are known for their steadfastness.
Also: A seasoned Christian mentor.
Get your support team in place...so that when you are
"down"-- you already have in place the needed "sources"
to draw from before the "adversary" attacks.
in your area who can come alongside you
and walk you out of the "wilderness".
You need some prayer warriors going to
bat for you. Add in: Mature Christian advisors who
are known for their steadfastness.
Also: A seasoned Christian mentor.
Get your support team in place...so that when you are
"down"-- you already have in place the needed "sources"
to draw from before the "adversary" attacks.
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Odetta
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I was in a place recently where I found it difficult to spend time in the word, have a daily intense quiet/prayer time, etc. I ultimately decided to wait upon the Lord to put the desire in my heart. In the meantime, I focused on surrounding myself with other things that would feed me. I made sure to go to church regularly to hear the sermons and small group lessons. I signed up for a ton of bible and biblical support pages on Facebook. Whenever I did feel the urge to pray, I prayed right then and there, even if it was a one sentence prayer. Did it take longer to come out of it doing things that way rather than forcing myself to have daily intense study and prayer? Probably. But I asked God to meet me where I was, and He showed up because He is faithful.
I also benefited from the fact that I was not a new christian, so I had years of background of bible study, and God would bring specific passages and biblical truths to my mind spontaneously when I needed them. I just need to pay attention. Eventually, the desire to delve deep into his Word came back, and with that the spiritual renewal I was looking for.
I also benefited from the fact that I was not a new christian, so I had years of background of bible study, and God would bring specific passages and biblical truths to my mind spontaneously when I needed them. I just need to pay attention. Eventually, the desire to delve deep into his Word came back, and with that the spiritual renewal I was looking for.
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Jesus said that those who believe in him, will never be thirsty again. According to John chapter 7, we have the spring of eternal life in our spirit, so we can not be thirsty again.
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What methods are there to rereaching the point of feeling as if I was "on fire" for God?
I experience mostly feelings and thoughts that are the equivalent of apathetic-...ness. I wake up saying "I WANNA [something spiritual]!!" and then find myself getting caught up in some action movie or in my own fantasies. I feel like I'm losing my grip on God-ly desires...
I experience mostly feelings and thoughts that are the equivalent of apathetic-...ness. I wake up saying "I WANNA [something spiritual]!!" and then find myself getting caught up in some action movie or in my own fantasies. I feel like I'm losing my grip on God-ly desires...
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Galadriel
Lady of Light
I wonder if part of the problem is that, you are possibly basing your walk with God on how you feel at any given time? I'm not saying for sure that is the case, but it sounds like this could be part of the issue.
Never base your walk with God on something as fickle as feelings. They come and go, one day you are feeling "on fire" so to speak, the next few days you might feel down in the dumps. That does not mean necessarily that your walk has changed at all. Heck even hormone shifts in our body can mess with our feelings. Many factors mess with them.
Your walk needs to be based on KNOWING with faith that God is there, because He said He would be there and not leave you.
Lemme tell you the truth, 99% of the time I don't actually feel (like have a jolt of great feelings) anything when it comes to God. What I mean is no bolt of "wow I am ON FIRE today! I feel great like God is literally right next to me!"
Don't make the mistake of basing it all on how you FEEL. Read Hebrews 11. Very good chapter. Its all based on FAITH, not FEELING.
Never base your walk with God on something as fickle as feelings. They come and go, one day you are feeling "on fire" so to speak, the next few days you might feel down in the dumps. That does not mean necessarily that your walk has changed at all. Heck even hormone shifts in our body can mess with our feelings. Many factors mess with them.
Your walk needs to be based on KNOWING with faith that God is there, because He said He would be there and not leave you.
Lemme tell you the truth, 99% of the time I don't actually feel (like have a jolt of great feelings) anything when it comes to God. What I mean is no bolt of "wow I am ON FIRE today! I feel great like God is literally right next to me!"
Don't make the mistake of basing it all on how you FEEL. Read Hebrews 11. Very good chapter. Its all based on FAITH, not FEELING.
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I believe it is part of the reason too. I'm attempting at trying to learn how to not focus on feelings..I wonder if part of the problem is that, you are possibly basing your walk with God on how you feel at any given time? I'm not saying for sure that is the case, but it sounds like this could be part of the issue.
Never base your walk with God on something as fickle as feelings. They come and go, one day you are feeling "on fire" so to speak, the next few days you might feel down in the dumps. That does not mean necessarily that your walk has changed at all. Heck even hormone shifts in our body can mess with our feelings. Many factors mess with them.
Your walk needs to be based on KNOWING with faith that God is there, because He said He would be there and not leave you.
Lemme tell you the truth, 99% of the time I don't actually feel (like have a jolt of great feelings) anything when it comes to God. What I mean is no bolt of "wow I am ON FIRE today! I feel great like God is literally right next to me!"
Don't make the mistake of basing it all on how you FEEL. Read Hebrews 11. Very good chapter. Its all based on FAITH, not FEELING.
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Lately I've just felt spiritually low... like 'here is this particular object'...I just can't muster up enough to reach out and...and grab it!
I think one of the things that I'm caught on now is..is looking in myself and trying to find something that is for Him.. (like 'for or against' Him kind of thing..).. I can't just look in a point at something and say "Hey! Here it is! Here's my passion for Him! Found it!"... I feel so...i-...
This article seems to be more understanding for me... and.. I can see where I relate to a bit more with numbers 1, 3, and 4 i think i...relatively a...a given to some people here and other places (like a coach or two at Groundwire (...maybe....well, maybe just one but..mm....))...
I don't wish to be "bent towards sin" as what the article says... and I have gone to... I've gone to people and one thing someone said...was that...basically what she said was if I was really 'numb' towards sin I probably wouldn''t be worried about it... but.. I don't like it...I don't want a thought that I sinned and a tiny (maybe) moment of remorseful feelings come about...no, I want to be broken.... I want my heart to break when I sin but in the situation I'm in..I think I should be looking up when I'm so...I look "down" in a 'lot' of cases...
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I went to my Youth Pastor one Sunday morning right before someone else was about to be baptized and told him that I wanted to be baptized (when someone came on stage and said we were about to have a baptism, I felt like I'd be leaving the impression that I wanted to do it because someone else did it...but...no...not really, no.) but after that..I later felt like the enemy was..like I was being.....I-....I had a lot of thoughts saying "No, I don't want this." trying to make me like...deny doing this... but...as of now...baptism is something He wants us to do as believers... and... getting baptized is obeying Him...so you'd think "Hey, I'm getting baptized, this is what He wants!" but...but I don't feel it... I don't feel like "Yay!!!" excitement...I don't necessarily have feelings like I don't want to do this but...I don't feel like...what I think I should... I want to feel at least something good towards it..it's obeying Him....I mean... that's...it's...I..
And I also don't know how to describe what else is going on...I don't necessarily think describing it with an overall "God is disappointed in me." as an....well....as an overall summary but...but it's..it's like He's distant...but... but like......I don't necessarily know what else I could pinpoint...it's... it's.... somewhat like "He's given up on me" with a dash of "He's tired of helping me so much.." and "He still loves me..." mushed into a Fight or Flight mentality... I.. I don't entirely or specifically know to describe this...
I was trying to focus more on His Grace when these things came about...
Again..I can't look in and say "Hey! Look! There it is! There's my passion!" but even if it felt like I could...it doesn't last long...
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"I hate to sound unoriginal[1] but any 12-Step Program worth stepping through will tell you that step 1 is to admit you have a problem. So, how do you know if you’re spiritually dry? How do you know when you’re running on empty?
You know you’re running on empty when...
(1) You’re numb to God’s Word and prayer. You read the Bible and you’re totally unaffected. It doesn’t seem to apply to you. It doesn’t affect you in any way. You might as well be reading the phone book! You pray without any sense of his presence. You’re numb. You feel nothing and you wonder if you ever will again. Spiritual numbness is a sign that you’re spiritually dry." (edited by self, copied from this article)
I don't think I've prayed about this as much as I think I think about it..but..I remember the time(or times) when I'd read the Bible and Tt bothered me if I wasn't doing as It told us to do. Like I wasn't [measuring up] or correctly or even following It at all. I wish I had that... I have the mind to pray about it...for the Holy Spirit to guide me more and to be more...more.........more..." bothered " when I read The Word...You know you’re running on empty when...
(1) You’re numb to God’s Word and prayer. You read the Bible and you’re totally unaffected. It doesn’t seem to apply to you. It doesn’t affect you in any way. You might as well be reading the phone book! You pray without any sense of his presence. You’re numb. You feel nothing and you wonder if you ever will again. Spiritual numbness is a sign that you’re spiritually dry." (edited by self, copied from this article)
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It started awhile ago... I go to a school and am in other environments where there's cussing.... so I prayed about it and not toooooo long later I hear it [cussing] a bit more now in my thoughts. Same goes for lustful or sexually immoral thoughts.. I pray against it....it shows up... i stumble... and..and...mm..I was going to go on with that point but...I... I listen to the song Forgive Me by Tenth Avenue North and think how I wish I could think like that...
I used to be so...me me me.. "Oh, I did this wrong.." or "Oh, how can I fix this?" or something related... me me me... but...I believe I posted this in another thread but...where is God in this? When I sin, I don't want the focus to be on me anymore I want it to be on Him... I need more of Him... but I feel like I'm farther... I pray for a desire for Him and then something else happens... I don't wish to be farther from Him...I just...
mm..
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The...the thing about a lot of this is (and this can tie in with my other recent thread) is that... I don't look much...I ...I..... I read about His grace... people say or the Apostles or writers of the Bible (more specifically the New Testament) will talk about "Grace be with you" or something like that...and I might (practically unintentionally) look past it... like "yeahyeahyeah sure, get out of the way I need to talk about this" and...I mean.. I read something like "God granted me repentance, by His grace" or something like that and I pause...
I listen to the song Forgive Me by Tenth Avenue North and when he talks about forgetting how kind The Lord is or something like that... I... it makes me think.. I wish I was like this..
I just read in The Bible a verse that talks about His grace or His mercy and now I...I think...
Jesus died for me....He loves me...but I look past it so many times and now....I pause..or think...
These last four things...and similar things (like...like the song Because of You by Matt Maher which sings about "how [everything] [in me] [comes from [Him]]") I see that...I don't necessarily do...or does my mind jump to...or do I dwell on as consistently... so I prayed about some of these things... to have a heart or maybe a mind like this... yet... I haven't... it doesn't seem like it's changing... and my zeal isn't...it isn't what I'd like it to be... when I sin...I want my heart to shatter or break...because as someone said [or relatively close to this] "[sinning is] crucifying Him [again and again]." And...and with what Jesus did....or what He went through or what He was feeling....that's.. why would sinning-...wh-...I mean-...
but I feel like...like this is head knowledge... "as soon as" I'm brought back to my "I don't feel this.." "I don't feel conviction" "I don't have a lot of zeal" "I wish this.." "I, I, I" "Me, me, me" it's like this desire to have the Grace of God on my heart and this awe and amazement with Jesus DYING for MY sins and WASHING them as FAR as THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST or being brought to my knees in repentance and rejoicing in His grace and mercy.....almost entirely rolls away...
I want it...but I...there's a difference between wanting it and having it and I....and with these struggles...I feel like I'm drifting farther....
what do you think?
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Cernunnos
Well. . .
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Been there, I take to 1 Thes 4:11-12 . . .
11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
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