What is a Slumbering Spirit?

A slumbering spirit results in the crippling of one’s ability to function in many areas of daily living.  Among the consequences of slumbering in the spirit are:

•   a lack of a true conscience,
•   inability to communicate intimately and to sustain close relationships,
•   inability to worship and have a fulfilling devotional life,
•   inability to learn from the past or project into the future, and;
•   inability to sustain good health.

If someone has a slumbering spirit, he or she becomes incapable of functioning adequately in those areas of life in which the spirit affects people at the deepest level.  Among these are:

•   the conscience,
•   building and sustaining personal relationships,
•   intimate communication, and devotional life.

The mind still works.  Emotions still work.  But the spirit is dysfunctional because it is in a sleep state. 

The Spirit must be awakened and nurtured again through:

•   inner healing,
•   committed discipleship, and
•   the patient love of friends and family.

Awakening exercise – explore ways in which your spirit may be asleep:

 Review the four characteristics of an awakened personal spirit listed in below.  Answer the degree to which you feel your spirit is awake in each characteristic. (‘yes’ means most awake – ‘no’ means least awake)            

1. During times of prayer and private devotions, can you feel God’s presence lifting you up in a real way?    
2. Can you sense God’s presence in your devotional time?  
3. Do you have difficulty getting from praise to worship?  
4. Have you ever had the experience of reading a book when you were distracted or your mind was wandering onto other things?  
5. Do you find it uncomfortable to be alone, preferring always to have someone with you, to go shopping, to travel, to study, even to be entertained?    
6. Do you ever have spiritual dreams or visions, or know in some other way with certainty what God is saying to you?  
7. Do you have several personal friends you share with regularly?  
8. When you talk with a person, can you comfortably maintain eye contact and stay focused on the conversation?  
9. How comfortable are you in sharing with your friends about the most personal things in your life?  
10. Do you have a number of close relationships that, through good times and bad, have remained strong over a period of time?  
11. Are the sexual relations in your marriage deeply fulfilling that cause you to cherish only your spouse as a sexual partner?  
12. Do you successfully maintain a healthful and positive attitude and rebound from minor illnesses with quick resilience?  
13. Do you perceive yourself as uncommonly vulnerable to illness?  
14. Are you often depressed?  
15. Do you find it difficult to maintain a positive attitude?  
16. Do you rebound very slowly from fatigue, a cold, or the flu?  
17. Does your personal sense of right and wrong work powerfully to alert you to moral and ethical danger areas and enable you to make good     decisions to stay out of trouble?  
18. Do you have a good sense of humour?  Are you able to enjoy a good belly laugh?  
19. Do you feel spiritually alive?  
20. Do you thrill to good music and art?  

If you answer is “yes” to most of these questions, a slumbering spirit may be draining you of spiritual and physical vitality.

Healing the Slumbering Spirit

When bitter roots cause the heart to harden, the heart becomes less resilient in the face of pain, for bitterness closes it off to the grace of Christ that would otherwise strengthen it.  “If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” (Psalm 27:10).  This increases the pain, making it more and more tempting to use inner vows to dull the pain. 

For instance, a child who is bitter because his father never notices the pictures he has drawn at school might vow that he doesn’t need such attention.  That (An) inner vow becomes a stronghold (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) that shuts out love and life. If he does not take it to the cross, then, as an adult, he may be unable to be attentive to his wife; one cannot give what he has shut out of his own heart.  The helper(s) and the one being healed can pray about whatever bitter roots are discerned.  A beneficial root is a practiced, hidden way of drinking nurture from God, others, ourselves, and nature.  Roots are “practiced and hidden” because our spirit learns to open and drink from others in earliest infancy, building automatic ways of opening to the presence and embrace of others in later life. 

Prayer for awakening the Slumbering Spirit

Lord, I want to be fully awakened — set free to be transformed by Your power into the glory of Your likeness. I long for a rich and satisfying relationship with You and the fulfillment of all that You created me to be.  By Your grace, Lord, enable me to forgive those who were unable to nurture me to life.  Forgive me for all the ways I have withdrawn from intimacy and held bitterness and negative expectations in my heart. Forgive me for striving to win love and acceptance without the willingness or ability to hold my heart open to others. Melt my heart of stone, Lord.  Fill me with life and give me strength of spirit to persist in risking to choose life.  Enable me to be vulnerable to people through whom You would give me nurture of mind, body, soul, and spirit.  Set me free from slumber, and empower me to bring life and joy to others. Amen.