How can I prevent spiritual dryness?
Psalm 63:1O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 143:6I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.
John 4:13-14Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
John 6:35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 7:37On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!”
Revelation 21:6He also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”
Revelation 22:17The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.
A tree by a riverbank grows full and tall because it is always supplied with water. In the same way, if we stay close to God, we will grow to spiritual maturity. We will not hunger or thirst for meaning in life, because God will nourish us with his Word and his presence. We need to stay close to God by spending time with him consistently and persistently through Bible reading, prayer, time with other believers, and serving him in the church and other ministries.
Genesis 3:6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
1 Kings 11:1-4Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been.
Proverbs 4:23Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Hosea 7:9Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak.
Romans 3:23Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Ephesians 4:26-27And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
1 John 5:21Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
We must keep sin from taking a foothold in our lives. Sin will always lead us away from God. To avoid drifting from God, we must guard our affections and keep focused on our devotion to him.
Psalm 32:3-4When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Psalm 66:18If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Isaiah 1:28-30Rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will be consumed. You will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of sacred oaks. You will blush because you worshiped in gardens dedicated to idols. You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.
1 John 1:9If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
We need to confess any sin right away and ask God to forgive us and turn our hearts back toward him. Even when our first impression is that all is well, we should pause and pray that God will show us anything in our lives that needs attention.
Proverbs 11:25The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Philippians 2:4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Hebrews 6:10-12God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
We are to practice genuine, active love for others. Love waters a dry soul. In seeking to help and encourage others, we will often find help for ourselves.
2 Timothy 3:1-5In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
We need to be careful of the company we keep.
Psalm 119:70Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your instructions.
Isaiah 58:11The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.
Colossians 1:23You must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.
Hebrews 2:1So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.
3 John 1:2-4Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. Some of the traveling teachers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living according to the truth. I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
We must faithfully live in obedience to God’s truth as he has revealed it in the Bible.
Deuteronomy 6:11-12“When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery.”
Nehemiah 9:28“But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!”
Hosea 13:5-6“I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land. But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.”
Remember God in all circumstances. When we are in need, we usually take God more seriously. But when we are well fed, comfortable, and prosperous, it is easier to become complacent about God. Wise is the person who remembers God daily in times of both need and prosperity.
