From time to time, my soul is filled with an overwhelming sense of conviction. This guilt comes from spiritual naps, periods of my life where I fell asleep to what God wanted me to do, say or stand up for. The Bible refers to this state as lukewarm. Past generations used words such as wishy washy to explain how lame my faith can be at times. To be bluntly honest, I am fighting a losing battle, wrestling to stay above rising flood waters pulling me under.
And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour? 38 Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak,” Mark 14:37-38.
No one is immune to sleeping as the human body is hard to control. This requires an intent focus, like a disciplined athlete training for their next competition. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for someone to slip into merely going through the motions. Whether you are talking about prayer, reading the Bible or worship, these practices can become a mundane event, void of spiritual fire or zeal. I guess you can say this is where I am, still sleeping, unable to awaken from this spiritual funk.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, Romans 8:26.
According to the apostle Paul, those who find themselves in this spiritual state need to cry out to the Holy Spirit for help. Instead of babbling the same old powerless prayer, ask God to intercede through the power of the Holy Spirit. I’m tied of doing the same lame thing, hoping for a better outcome. Therefore, join me in an awakening of the soul to once again put into practice the word of God. If you’re still sleeping like me, its time to get up, Luke 21:36.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 