Wake Up: 4 Dangers of Spiritual Sleep

Introduction

You started well with the Lord. You knew powerful moments, victories, answered prayers. Then, without really knowing when or how, something slowed down. Prayer became rare, the Word less savory, spiritual warfare more of a theory than a lived reality. You didn't deny Christ. You simply fell asleep.

In his message on Judges 16:13, Jean Marc Botteron puts a name on this drift: spiritual sleep. He reminds us that this danger lies in wait for every Christian, from the moment they begin walking with Jesus. And he insists: falling into this sleep doesn't mean all is lost. When the symptoms appear, there's still time to respond. Paul writes to Rome: "It is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).

Through four figures from the Bible, Samson, the disciples at Gethsemane, Eutychus, and Jonah, this message shows you how spiritual sleep sets in, what it costs, and how the awakening comes.

Article Outline

1. Samson: the sleep of a flaw never dealt with

Samson, "little sun" in Hebrew, was called to shine. A miracle child, consecrated to the Lord from his mother's womb, he experienced the power of the Holy Spirit on his life. He tore a lion apart with his bare hands, killed a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone, carried a city's gates on his shoulders.

But Samson had a flaw he never dealt with: a weakness for women, and particularly Philistine women, enemies of God's people. His parents warned him. He answered, "Get her for me, for she pleases me." He wasn't seeking God's will, he was seeking what pleased him. And a small, untreated problem always ends up growing and putting down roots.

A first woman, a first failure. A second woman, a second failure. Then Delilah. She pressed him day after day, the way the devil never leaves us alone. Peter writes: "Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Samson did not watch. He let himself be devoured. He opened his heart, revealed his secret, and Delilah lulled him to sleep on her lap.

This physical sleep is a picture of spiritual sleep. He had let go of God's hand and his parents' counsel. When the Philistines came, he thought he'd get away with it like the other times. "He didn't know that the LORD had departed from him" (Judges 16:20). His strength never depended on him: it depended on God. The eyes that had seduced him were gouged out. The free man became a slave, chained to turn the millstone. "Everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin," Jesus says (John 8:34).

2. The disciples at Gethsemane: when the flesh puts prayer to sleep

Jesus arrives at the garden of Gethsemane, which means "oil press." It's there that he fights his great spiritual battle, the battle of the cup. He takes three disciples aside: Peter, James, and John. He asks them to watch with him. His sweat becomes like drops of blood. He prays: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire" (Matthew 26:39).

Meanwhile, the disciples fall asleep. Jesus returns and says to Peter: "What, couldn't you watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray, that you don't enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:40-41).

There's the diagnosis. The spirit wanted to pray. The flesh, for its part, never wants you to pray. The flesh opposes prayer. It's one of the three great enemies of the Christian: the devil first, the world and its pleasures, and ourselves, the flesh. Paul is clear: "Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts" (Galatians 5:24).

Who has to crucify the flesh? Not God in your place. You. That's your part, your challenge. As long as the flesh rules, prayer stays weak, and you'll fall asleep at the very moment you should be watching. But when the flesh is crucified, it frees the spirit for prayer. If you can't manage to pray each day, that's a sign: the flesh has taken over. One concrete way to silence it? Raise your voice. Even a few words spoken aloud in personal prayer, as a couple, as a family, at church: that's already a victory, the flesh is held in check.

And if the battle feels overwhelming, remember: "The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4).

3. Eutychus: the sleep you don't see coming

Acts 20:9 tells the story of Eutychus, in Troas, during Paul's third missionary journey. It's the first day of the week, Sunday, a working day at the time. The service is held in the evening, in a house. Paul preaches at length, until midnight.

A young man, Eutychus, is sitting on the windowsill. He falls into a deep sleep during Paul's message. Overcome by sleep, he falls from the third story. When they pick him up, he's dead.

Why was he sitting at the window? That's already a risky spot, halfway between two worlds: one ear in, one ear out. He was present in body, but his mind was wandering. And he didn't see the sleep coming. That's one of the most treacherous traps: spiritual sleep doesn't announce itself. You slide quietly, without noticing, and then it's too late.

No one around him noticed him falling asleep either, otherwise someone would have shaken him awake. This speaks to our responsibility to watch over one another. Paul comes down, takes him in his arms, prays for him, and the young man comes back to life. He goes back up to the service, but you can be sure he didn't sit by the window again. He understood that untreated spiritual sleep leads to spiritual death.

4. Jonah: the sleep of disobedience

Jonah was a prophet. God gave him a simple command: go preach to Nineveh. But Nineveh was Israel's enemy, and Jonah didn't want to announce God's grace to them. He fled toward Tarshish, the opposite direction, four times farther than Nineveh.

A strange detail: everything opens up for him. He finds a ship, he has the money, he can pay for an expensive ticket. When you decide to disobey God, the enemy is happy to open doors. An open door isn't necessarily God's will.

But God pursues his prophet. He sends a storm. Here, the storm doesn't come from the enemy: it comes from God, to bring Jonah back onto the right path. While the sailors cry out and throw the cargo overboard, "Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep" (Jonah 1:5).

He goes down into the depths, that's already a picture. Spiritually, he's hitting bottom. And he falls asleep at the exact moment he should be testifying, praying, interceding. Yet God is looking for men and women at their post: "I sought for a man among them, who should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none" (Ezekiel 22:30).

Jonah is thrown into the sea. God, full of compassion, sends a great fish that brings him back to exactly where he started. All that expense, that whole journey, for nothing. He simply had to obey. This time, Jonah gets up, obeys, and goes to Nineveh with God's blessing. Awakening is possible.

Key Takeaways

• An untreated flaw becomes a chain. Like Samson, a tolerated sin ends up binding you right where you thought you were strongest.
• Your strength doesn't come from you. Samson thought he'd get away with it like the other times. He didn't know that the LORD had departed from him. Stay dependent on God's power, not your own strength.
• The flesh must be crucified, by you. God won't do it in your place. Without this, prayer stays weak and sleep will catch you at the moment of battle.
• Spiritual sleep doesn't announce itself. It sets in quietly. Watch over your own soul, and watch over your brothers and sisters too, to wake them in time.
• An open door isn't always God's will. Check that your path is one of obedience, not escape.

Personal Application

Take a moment to honestly ask yourself these questions before the Lord:

• Is there a flaw in my life I've never really dealt with, an area where I do what pleases me rather than what God wants?
• Can I manage to pray every day? If not, where has the flesh taken over in my schedule, my thoughts, my affections?
• Am I at my post in God's work? Is there a service, even a small one, that I've been putting off for a long time?
• Around me, is there a brother or sister falling asleep that I could wake up with a word, a prayer, a call?
• In what direction am I "going down into the ship's hold" to avoid hearing God's call?

Verses Cited

• Judges 16:13, Delilah searches for the secret of Samson's strength.
• Judges 16:20, "He didn't know that the LORD had departed from him."
• 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful."
• John 8:34, "Everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin."
• Matthew 26:39-41, Gethsemane and the call to watch.
• Job 23:12, "I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food."
• Galatians 5:24, Crucifying the flesh.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4, Weapons made mighty by God.
• Acts 20:7-12, Eutychus's fall and revival.
• Jonah 1:5, Jonah asleep in the bottom of the ship.
• Ezekiel 22:30, God seeks a man to stand in the gap.
• Romans 13:11, "It is already time for you to awaken out of sleep."
• Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might."

FAQ

What is spiritual sleep according to the Bible?

It's the state in which a Christian, who started out well with Jesus, gradually stops watching over their soul: prayer becomes rare, the Word feels distant, and the flesh takes over again. The Bible gives several examples: Samson asleep on Delilah's lap (Judges 16), the disciples at Gethsemane (Matthew 26), Eutychus at the window (Acts 20), Jonah in the bottom of the ship (Jonah 1). Paul calls us to wake up: "It is already time for you to awaken out of sleep" (Romans 13:11).

How can I know if I'm falling asleep spiritually?

Spiritual sleep sets in quietly, as with Eutychus, you don't see it coming. The early symptoms are a weakening: difficulty praying each day, coolness toward the Word, growing tolerance for a "personal" sin, less interest in serving and gathering with the church. This is the moment to respond, not to deny it.

What can I actually do to wake up?

Three approaches from the message. First: deal with the flaw you already know about, confess it, don't let it grow (Samson). Second: crucify the flesh, that's your part, not God's, and take up daily prayer again, as a couple, as a family, at church, by raising your voice (the disciples). Third: return to your post, obey what God has already asked of you, even a "small" act of service (Jonah, Ecclesiastes 9:10).