When you no longer feel the Holy Spirit’s presence consider asking yourself: “What kind of water am I drinking? Is the water I’m drinking simply water of this world or the water of LIFE?”
For a long time, I had struggled with the absence of the Holy Spirit. His fire was incredibly strong when I was born again. I spent the entire day praying, listening to sermons, and having fellowship with the Lord. I remember being so excited to open my bible, read the Word, and pray for others when I couldn’t sleep at night.
We spent a lot of time together, and I constantly felt His presence. Even when I fell into the depths of sin, my relationship with Christ was immediately restored when I returned to His throne with a sincere and repentant heart.
However, our sins gradually quench the Holy Spirit.
So, how do we respond when God appears to be distant from us? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. He doesn’t change; it’s us who do. Hebrews 13:8.
His love for us does not waver. Sin is what makes us fall.
SIN CAUSES THE ABSENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The main reason for the Holy Spirit’s absence when there seems to be a wall separating you from God, is sin.
You get the impression that it’s difficult for you to see well because of the heavy fog. It’s as if your heart has a big thorn, and a believer might be deeply saddened by this.
What went wrong, you’re wondering. “Will I ever experience His presence once more?” Because you no longer experience His fellowship’s sweetness.
I can still clearly recall how devastated I was when I couldn’t feel His presence.“What’s happening, God?” I kept asking. “Why I don’t feel your presence anymore? “What should I do now?”
Scripture says:
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 4:30, and “Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19
It is the sinful seed that slowly chokes the Holy Spirit until He relents.
Later, I repented and confessed any known sin, but I soon started to withdraw from the light. In some ways, I began to hide from the light out of fear that, if I acknowledged any severe mistake, God would not grant me His presence.
I remember how deeply saddened my heart became when I went to my knees and felt nothing. I didn’t feel anything. Zero. And deep down, in complete silence, my heart was crying. Do you cry as well?
EXAMINE YOUR HEART
At this point, you must examine your heart to see if you have begun to idolize His presence. I certainly did.
The next thing I did was go on YouTube and search for the topic: “When you don’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit anymore.” I was confident that Christians are addressing these issues, but to my great surprise, I only found two related videos on the subject.
I was having difficulty finding an explanation for this specific situation and was disappointed when there was no clear answer on how His sweet presence can return. Then I thought: “If Christians aren’t answering this question, then what now? Is this the point at which you just give up and cry?”
Therefore, one video stands out, in which the number one reason for the absence of God’s presence was disobedience. My first words were: “But God, I confess everything I know.” Then He whispered to me: “You take sins like disobedience and unfaithfulness lightly as if they were minor offenses.”
We frequently forget that God despises all sins. Big or small. Not just when we commit sins against others or ourselves. The most important thing is our relationship with God.
We cannot expect to be cheerful while riding for the lusts of the flesh:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
When we sin, we are sinning against God.
I’ll give you an honest example. The Holy Spirit once prompted me to worship Him, but I chose to ignore him. I caved into my ego and watched one pointless episode of “90-day Fiance.”
With just one act of disobedience, you give a foothold for more.
The absence of the Holy Spirit makes us feel as if we are walking through a dried desert
PARTIAL OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE
Partial obedience is disobedience. When we only obey God in areas “where we agree with Him,” we are under great deception. We feel as though we are rubbing sand in our eyes; Instead, we ought to make an effort to fulfill all of God’s demands in a sincere and well-intentioned way.
Obey His voice, not yours.
What actions can we then take to restore our relationship with God?
Here are seven important things to think about.
HUMBLE YOURSELF BEFORE GOD
The first thing you have to do in your daily relationship with God is to humble yourself. You must humble yourself. We must lay down our pride and come to His throne with pure, sincere, and repentant hearts, as well as the right motives:
“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Heb 10:22
CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Do you carry any unrepented or unconfessed sins? Ask Him to reveal any known or hidden sins to you:
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24
A CALL TO REPENTANCE
Continue to pray and be still, until you receive an answer. When you get it, don’t just brush it under the rug; instead, confess it wholeheartedly, not just for the sake of receiving forgiveness.
STOP RUNNING FROM GOD
God sees what is going on in your heart and whether or not you are hiding something. He knows everything about you. Don’t try to hide from the light, rather, run to Him, not away from Him!
PRAY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Prayer is a key to God and the most important way to communicate with Him, so go to God first, not last. Pour out your heart to Him. He will also guide you in prayer with a gentle voice.
Pray with an open and honest heart:
“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6
Go to your secret place and ask God to restore your relationship with Him.
Sometimes, all it takes is one prayer to change everything.
Abide in His Word. Draw closer to God:
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8
SEEK GOD
When God seems distant from us, rather than seeking worldly pleasures that cannot satisfy us, we should seek Jesus first, even in the desert.
His Holy water will purify you.
Christ abides in us and we are in Him when we seek Him. Seek Him until your heart begins to sing with joy. Continue to seek Him in your joy as well.
WORSHIP IS NOT A FEELING
Jesus is worthy of your worship and praise! Give Him praise for all that He has done for you. Start being grateful and practicing thankfulness:
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
Be grateful for everything you have. Each day you have is a blessing from God.
This is the moment when all the idols will crumble!
Continue to abide in Christ, the true vine. Pray and read the Bible. Confess your sins. The Truth will renew your mind and His Holy water will cleanse you. And His presence will eventually return to you.
Jesus is the only source of true, living water, who can fill us with joy and peace that this world does not know. He is the one who gives us the Holy Spirit, and we cannot earn His presence on our own. It is, however, our responsibility to serve Him wholeheartedly and to submit to His authority.
Then I believe your relationship with God will be restored.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
I hope you found this helpful and encouraging. I’m here to pray for you if you need it! 🙂
And don’t forget: Jesus loves you & I love you too!
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Thank you for writing this! This is the message I was looking for. I found the Lord in a dramatic way in 2015, at my 4th rehab. He saved me from decades of drug addiction and new age spiritualism. I stayed sober for 4 years, and grew a lot in my relationship with Him. When I prayed to Him, I felt this joy in my heart that felt like it was overflowing, so that my heart was shining! I began to understand scripture because I was seeing it happen in my own life! And yet I neglected Him at times, in just the way you described. He would fill me with a longing for Him, and instead of going to prayer, I turned on a stupid cartoon!? What an insult to Him. Then during the lockdown, I ended up relapsing on drugs ( because of depression, anger, and not putting Him first. Entertainment is an Idol for me) and I was afraid I severed our relationship for good. I even went through some demonic attacks during this period. Since then I have struggled to stay sober and struggled to feel His presence. And it really has worried me. But today, I am sober, and have been for a few months, and am working to rebuild my relationship with Him. I joined a Bible study, and am in the process of tearing down my idols, by getting rid of tv access, and limiting smart phone access during the morning and night, when I should be seeking Him (not Netflix). I realize I need to take Him more seriously and cut some things out of my life, before I can begin to work on my obedience. The modern world is too distracting! Thank you for the encouraging words!
Hi Lee, First and foremost, I am grateful that you found it helpful! 🙂 Thank you for opening up and sharing your story with us as well! Much of what you’ve said also applies to me! I also experienced demonic attacks. This usually happens when we neglect to pray, study the Bible, and spend time in God’s Word. The armor of God is necessary to put on before the battle each day.
It never ceases to amaze me how God can transform us despite the messiness of our lives. I struggled with depression, suicidal thoughts, and hopelessness for multiple years before founding Christ. In my career, I began to experience disappointment after disappointment until it became too much for me. This downward spiral was the beginning of my relationship with Jesus.
What I’ve learned is that the most important thing is to recognize where we’ve strayed from our first love. Then comes repentance and prayer to God to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:1-13 tells us that we have an opportunity to enter God’s rest, but there is also a chance that we can fail to experience it out of disobedience. Sometimes we just have to surrender our fear of facing our deepest struggles and pains to God. And, as you mentioned, we need to take our relationship with Jesus more seriously and honor him with fear and respect. 🙂
Your words have also been encouraging to me. I will keep you in my prayers and thoughts, and I wish you many blessings! 🙂
Thanks it was helpful and encouraging though!
My pleasure. Glad you find it encouraging. 🙂
Thank you so much , this has really helped me , right now I feel like I don’t have holy spirit in me anymore, in the past when I was praying I felt his presence close to me I felt like anm talking to him one by one , I used even to feel danger ahead and I would stop it, but nowadays when I pray I feel nothing , my everything is parting away I need his presence again, MAY YOU HELP ME TO PRAY MY DEAR SO GOD CAN GIVE ME BACK HIS SPIRIT, ALSO PRAY FOR FAVOR IN MY HOUSEHOLD AND FINANCIAL BREAKTHROUGH WE ARA PASSING A LOT AS A FAMILY.
Praise God for touching your heart! My advice to you (based on personal experience) is that you start singing songs, hymns, or psalms to God (or whatever He puts on your heart) – this will shift your emphasis away from yourself and toward Him.
When our spiritual lamps run out of oil, Satan is attempting to turn us against God. I fell into this trap, and the only way out was to worship God and sing song (probably you know it): “What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus” – God, cleanse me of the sins of pride, rebellion, groaning, and self-condemnation (I began to list which sins). I once read that when we sin, we don’t lose our salvation, but we do lose the joy of salvation. I believe the biggest problem we confront when we cannot sense God’s presence is that we don’t know who we are in Christ and who God is – which is why, when we can’t feel it, we may start believing numerous lies – That is why we must seek God and know His character. God is loving, compassionate, and merciful, always ready to forgive, and always capable of releasing prisoners. I will pray for you and God’s provision! God is with you and will provide whatever you need! 🙂 Trust in His promises: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Hi. I always thought I knew God until I wanted to truly walk with him and I started to doubt even his existence. Everything feels like a lie. I can no longer defend to myself what is wrong or right. I feel lonely. People speak about how reading your Bible will pull you closer to God but you need the Holy Spirit. How can I have the Holy Spirit when I don’t even believe there’s God. And if I don’t believe how can I be saved. I’ve tried to convince myself in different ways about the existence of God but I just can’t hold it down. Don’t get me wrong I want to know God. I want to enjoy the things that come with knowing him. I even want to lead people to him. But I don’t even believe in anything.
Hello,
I went through the same thing. And I want you to know that you’re not alone. Whenever we try to get close to God, who or what do you think tries to stop us? Something evil that wants to try to not let us go on the right path right? Look around this world, people are constantly suffering and doing evil deeds, don’t you think there is a solution to all of this knowing that man did not create this world? The solution is Jesus. Before I got saved, I didn’t want to hear about God. I believed there was no God and I hardened my heart towards Him, He still chose to save me. How much more do you think He, Your Creator, wants that for you? You see, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. You see, God sent Jesus on this earth to save us knowing our sinful nature and our disobedience towards God, we didn’t know Jesus, but He knew us, and you know what? He suffered so that one day we won’t have to suffer anymore once we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. God is a loving God, and once you walk with Him it’s the best decision and peace you will ever have for eternity. I’m not saying it will be easy, there will be warfare.. Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” But I promise you, it will all be worth it in the end. He is our Father and i promise that He loves you and always will. If you need help i’m here.. I apologize if this is a bit late. And once you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and repent of your sins, you will recieve the Holy Spirit, for He is faithful to which you are called for. Your faith will grow as you mature, but 1 Peter 2:2-3 ” Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Reading God’s Word will grow your faith, even if you are unsure, The Bible was made to bring people to Christ and preach about His salvation for sinners and for the believers/saved to grow from it. Don’t give up, you will feel like it at times, but fight the good fight of faith and push forward. Matthew 24:13 “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Now’s the time. Hope this helped :). God bless you and i’m praying for you.
I also want you to know that you will be a great blessing to others when you choose to lead others to Him :).
Hi, Michelle! Thank you for being so open and sharing a little bit of your story. Since I was experiencing the same things as you were, I wanted to let you know that I completely understand how you feel! For a very long time, I battled the idea that God exists, and even when I saw proof of His existence, I refused to believe it. I watched Ray Comfort’s “The Atheist Delusion” amid my unbelief, and it opened my eyes, but I still didn’t believe God created everything.
During quarantine in 2020, I was laid off from my job, and it was during this time that I began to sincerely seek God for real answers. I also joined a faith group on Facebook (as for me and my house podcast) and Hearing the Truth of the Gospel: “Jesus loves you, He died for you” and “It’s all about relationship with Him” began to change me. I began talking to Him, confessing everything that was on my mind. Furthermore, after hearing numerous stories about how Jesus changed people’s lives, I reasoned that there had to be more to it. In addition, I watched an American gospel, which helped me understand God better. I wanted to know my purpose “God why did you make me?” Then my student status expired, and the fear of being unemployed overcame me, and God became the only lifeline I had left. That was the point at which I finally humbled myself and surrendered my life to Jesus. I opened up to Him and spoke to Him as if He were a friend. And in that prayer, I experienced such joy, freedom, and peace! The Holy Spirit instantly restored me and healed me of everything that had been tormenting me.
After being born again, you will be transformed from the inside out. It’s as if your life is just beginning; you’re alive! The Bible says For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” 2 Corinthians 10:26 – this was the verse I needed to read until my final doubt about God’s existence crumbled.
Perhaps the missing piece for you is a relationship with God and a born-again experience. Imagine a relationship with God as a phone that needs to be charged when it runs low – that is how we must fill our hearts with the right “charger” – Jesus Christ. I will definitely pray for you! 🙂