OVERCOMING SPIRITUAL LAZINESS

Spiritual laziness is something that we all struggle with because of our sinful nature. Our sinful nature is geared towards pleasing itself and not God. Galatians 5:19-21 says, "When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." When Jesus was with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before He was arrested by the religious leaders and the temple guards, He instructed His disciples to stay behind while He prayed at a distance. However, when He returned to them, He found them sleeping. Jesus woke them up and said to them, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41)." Our spirit wants to follow God, but if our flesh or body is more attracted to our sinful nature, we will easily give in to sinful desires and spiritual laziness.

The answer to our spiritual laziness is prayer. When we feel like we don't want to spend time with God in His Word and prayer, we must ask our Heavenly Father to give us the desire and hunger to spend time with Him in His Word and prayer. We need God's strength to overcome our spiritual laziness. When our sinful nature becomes entangled with the entertainment and comforts of this world, and we are too lazy to attend church, pray, or read the Word of God, we must pray to God to overcome the desires of our sinful nature. We must follow the instructions of our Lord Jesus to His disciples. We must watch (be alert) and pray. Let us not succumb to spiritual laziness, for it will steal our hearts away from God. The reason many Christians wander away from God is that they allow their sinful nature to overcome them. They stop going to church, praying, and reading the Word of God. As a result, when the storm of life or temptation comes, they cannot stand on their faith in God. 

We all struggle with spiritual laziness, but God has given us a solution: Always be alert and pray. The moment we feel lazy to attend church, pray, and read God's Word, we must immediately pray that God will give us the strength to overcome the desires of our sinful nature. 

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) How can I overcome the desires of my sinful nature? What are the things that steal away my desire to go to church, pray, or read the Word of God? What is the danger of spiritual laziness?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for teaching me this morning about the importance of overcoming my spiritual laziness. Please help me to pray immediately when I feel lazy to go to church, pray, or read your Word. Please do not let entertainment and the comforts of this world steal my heart away from you. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.