What to do when I am not growing spiritually

 By Alagbe Shenayon

I've been getting some questions in my DM on WhatsApp, and I feel I need to address it here.

Someone sent, "Good evening, sir. There's something I'd like to speak to you about. Lately, I've been feeling lazy about praying. I don't know what's wrong with my prayer life. I've stopped participating in my night prayers, and I don't know what to do. I really want to pray, but I've been feeling too lazy to do so."

First, you need to understand that the way humans are wired, we are sort of configured not to really do things on our own except there's a force that draws us closer or helps us. You cannot grow spiritually if the Holy Spirit isn't the one helping you. He had to even help you to know Him, even though you have your part to play.

One way we can know that you still want to grow is your level of "hunger for God." Just as you crave food, you should also crave knowing God more, and the more you know Him, the more you'll want to know Him. How do I grow spiritually, or know God, or even pray, irrespective of whether I am busy or not?

1. Prayer walk: Do you know that sometimes when you sit at the comfort of your house, for example, to pray, 10 minutes or 40 minutes into the prayer, you doze off? Let's say you haven't conquered sleep or, due to the nature of your work, you're tired; the best style of prayer you can do is a prayer walk. Yeah, walk while praying. Don't even dare kneel to pray, because sleep is at the door, knocking.

2. Songs: I know you'd wonder what songs have to do with spiritual growth. Recently, I noticed that without any songs playing around me, a song will just pop up in my spirit, and I would have sung it more than twice in my mind before I sing it. What I usually do is that if I don't have that song on my phone, I'll try to download it, sing it more, and see what God is trying to say to me through that song. It could be a phrase like "do not pass me by." That alone is a prayer. If you have also noticed that with you, sing those songs and enjoy the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. So also with some movies, but not all kinds of movies. Listen to chants more; perhaps play them more often.

3. Praying with friends: You cannot grow spiritually if you don't understand friendship. See, I can easily know if your spiritual life will grow effectively if I check your friends. If those surrounding you are not growing, and you desire to grow, you might want to leave that setting and meet those ahead of you to help you. Check out Psalm 1:1. Remember, friends help each other, and your growth is sort of strengthened by the kind of folks you keep.

4. What you listen to and watch: What you expose yourself to will affect you. I became aggressive and angry about sin due to what I was exposed to. You can't say you want to break off some addictions, such as pornography and masturbation, and you're still watching content that feeds your appetite. You'll even do more grievous stuff. Watch what you feast on. You can't desire to grow spiritually and still be feasting on Shalipopy songs. Since the day you've been listening to Rema and Omalay's songs, how has it helped your spiritual life? Because something is good doesn't mean it's godly and comes from God. It's advisable to listen to sermons on topics you want to know more about. It would help you. At least I listen to a sermon per week, and when I have the chance, I listen to two per day.

5. Read your Bible: Just keep reading your Bible; if it's two chapters you can read per day, keep reading, keep reading, and reading, and most importantly, understand what you're reading. Meditating on it would help.

6. Have a specific time to pray: Depending on your schedule, have a time you'd want to spend with God to pray. It could be 6 a.m. in the morning or 6 p.m. in the evening. And importantly, when you wake up, always spend at least one hour with God every day. It's very important you do that. Once it becomes your habit, your growth is increasing.

7. Help: Always tell God to help you. Let Him know that you're not strong as people see you; tell Him, "Abba, your daughter/son is weak; help me!" You'd be amazed at how much strength you'd have.

Remember, spiritual growth is a journey, and it's okay to take it one step at a time. Keep desiring to know God cause the more you know God the more you fall in love with Him.