The Absence Of Spiritual Power

                                                      When The Door Slams 

Then she let him fall asleep on her lap and called a man to shave off the seven braids on his head. In this way, she made him helpless, and his strength left him. Then she cried, "Samson, the Philistines are here! When he awoke from his sleep, he said, "I will escape as I did before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him.                                                                                                     Judges 16:19-20   

        One of the signs of a heart that has shifted from God is the absence of spiritual power. If you are like Samson, you will not be immediately aware that God's power has left you. Only after he tried to defeat his enemies did Samson recognize that something was wrong. He went against the Philistines as before, expecting their swift defeat. But this time the Philistines easy prevailed over him. 

        If you allow sin to creep into your life, if you refuse to obey Your Lord, if you do not reconcile with those who have hurt you, your spiritual vitality is fading away. You may assume everything is fine, but when you pray, answers do not come as they once did. You once had a positive effect on those around you, but now your influence is negligible or even harmful. 

        Your life once brought reconciliation, but now you experience problems in your relationships. Those around you who have relied upon your strength are discovering that you are not as helpful to them as you once were. Your lack of spiritual power is not crying out for attention; but you are seeing deceptive changes in your spirit and in your relationship with God.

        Think about this: How can you stop this spiritual decline? You must regularly repent of any sin. You must invite God to search your heart and life to see if there are attitudes, relationships, or activities that need to be removed. You must fervently obey and trust the Lord will. If you walk with the Lord God in this manner, you will grow spiritual strength and be used mightily by Him. 

You are to tear Yahweh your God and worship Him. Remain faithful to Him and take oaths in His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome works your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt, 70 people in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky. Deuteronomy 10:20-22) 

You are the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps His covenant of lovingkindness. Nehemiah 9:32)

From within, out of the hearts of men proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evil things come from within and defile a man. Mark 7:21-23)

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

                                                        Never Rest Ministries