Beware of yourselves, lest your hearts become heavy with excess of eating and drinking and the anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly. Luke 21:34

Spiritual slumber is a state of spiritual sleep, lethargy, a period during which your flesh takes control over your spirit, imposing its will upon it. It means submitting your actions to the will of the flesh, overriding that of your spirit. At this moment, your spirit, which is supposed to guide your entire being, is asleep, I would even say “snoring.” It no longer has control over anything. You are not unaware, dear reader, that a human being, by definition, is composed of three parts: the spirit, the soul, and the body. The spirit is the part or entity that allows you to commune with God.

If your body takes control over you, you will be referred to as a carnal person. Conversely, if the spirit takes control over you, it will be said that you are a spiritual person, led by the Spirit of God who dwells within you. You no longer do things according to your own inspirations but according to the instructions of the Holy Spirit who speaks to your spirit. Operating with the Holy Spirit influencing your spirit should, therefore, be a daily thirst, a daily pursuit. Unfortunately, many Christians, for various reasons, fall into spiritual slumber: they entrust the steering wheel of their life to their flesh, which guides them to do things that do not befit those professing the Christian faith. Believe me, dear reader, this is a genuine trap that every child of God must avoid.

Spiritual slumber is a very powerful weapon that the enemy deploys to weaken the faith of many Christians. It is characterized by indifference, apathy, and a heaviness towards the things of God. In this case, it is referred to as spiritual heaviness. Dear reader, just as your physical body can become heavy due to everything you consume, your spirit can also become heavy as a result. You wake up one day, suddenly realizing that you no longer want to pray, read the Bible, meditate on it, attend worship services, or join your prayer meetings.

You realize that sin becomes something trivial. You find yourself engaging in all sorts of activities, losing the desire to spend time with God, to commune with Him through His indwelling Spirit. This phenomenon can last for several days, weeks, months, or even years. You exhibit a disinterest in the things of God, and spiritual realities no longer hold any significance for you. (“I will delve into this topic in detail in one of my upcoming books: “The Church Facing Apostasy“).

So, check whether your sins have been abandoned, and whether you are still complicit with them. If not, know that you have lowered your level of consecration. Consider the time you used to spend in prayer and meditation. Remember the time when you earnestly sought God with zeal and fervor. Compare the time you used to dedicate to your devotion with what you do now. Is it spent on long reality TV programs, celebrity gossip, time-consuming video games…? These won’t edify you, and so on…

It’s a spirit of slumber that attacks every child of God, preferably those who are the most spiritual, those who make an effort to walk in the Spirit, with the grace that God provides them. Unfortunately, this grip leads them to walk in the flesh. When a child of God falls into spiritual slumber, they easily become prey to the flesh and its many desires, as I have just emphasized.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:14

This is a phenomenon you should take very seriously: not only do you distance yourself from the Holy Spirit, but you also become an easy target for any demon trying to approach. In other words, you become spiritually vulnerable. It happened to me one day when, for a week, I no longer intensely read my Bible, not more than 15 minutes, even though I used to spend hours meditating on the Word. I almost stopped praying. I felt a heaviness coming over me. My thirst for God was no longer the same. I wondered what was wrong.

Then the Spirit of God said to me, “Enter and pray against the spirit of slumber.” I immediately understood that I was under attack by a spirit of apathy. I began to pray and declare my awakening to communion with God. I took authority over the heaviness attacking my spirit. I must emphasize again, this is not about demonic possession because a child of God cannot be possessed if they truly walk with the Lord. However, they can experience demonic oppression, and that was the case during the period described here.

Just a few minutes later, I felt liberated. I had regained my life of prayer and meditation.

Many Christians, even servants of God, are in the same situation right now. You can spend hours talking to your friends or strangers on social media and feel fatigue when it comes to praying or reading the Bible. If you pray religiously or out of habit, if you notice that prayer has become a burden, do not waste another moment; this chapter is for you, dear reader. I implore you to take matters into your own hands quickly.

This text is an extract from the book “Why are my prayers not answered?” written by Pascal Kossi AZANLEDJI.

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