While men slept – Part 2

Text: Matt.13: 25-28
There are two types of sleep: the physical and the spiritual sleep. It is important for us to understand what spiritual sleep is. First of all, it is a state of idleness and inactivity and you find it difficult to fast, pray or even study the word of God. In this state, people easily fall into vices like pornography. The Bible says in 2 Sam. 11:1-11 that at a time when kings go to war, David stayed back home and we see here how he fell into spiritual sleep. According to Rev. 1:6, we are kings and priests and note that life is full of battles. If you choose to laze around when men are fighting, then be ready for a deal with the devil, as we see in the case of David. The resultant effect is a lifetime of complicated battles handed over like a baton from one generation to another. Today, a lot of believers are spiritually asleep, oblivious of the mounting consequences it has to the fulfilment of their destiny. Whenever you’re idle, the devil gives you distraction, so you can give him attention, which if you do, he gives you direction. The second thing about spiritual sleep is that it is a state of insensitivity to spiritual things. Such persons could get revelations from God or even a prompting to rise up and pray, but take it for levity. They are not sensitive to people around them, but just feel everything is okay. They are reluctant to come to prayer meetings and even sleep off while praying. A young man got a prompting several times to pray at night, but each time he attempted it, he would sleep off. He never knew that God was notifying him of an impending death. Two weeks after, he embarked on a journey that led to his untimely death in a road accident. As a believer, when you can’t find sleep at night, convert it into prayer instead of watching movies. In Matt. 26:36-42, Jesus told Peter to watch and pray, so that he would not enter into temptation. Oftentimes, the devil uses the flesh to lure men into temptation, so he can strike.

Again, spiritual sleep is a state of being stone dead to issues around you. It is a carefree or lackadaisical attitude towards the things of God. This can be a lack of spirit and liveliness, especially due to delayed expectations leading to depression. In Rev. 3:16, God said he would spit such a person out of His mouth. The case of Lot in Gen. 19:30-38 is a clear example. How could a man get so drunk that he didn’t know when his daughters slept with him and each became pregnant? There are people like this, that the enemy is working on them overtime to sow a seed and to attack or take something from them. This is spiritual slumber and the enemy could be responsible for the sleep, so he can carry out his mission. I pray for you today that God will restore everything that was stolen from you while asleep in Jesus name.

Another expression of spiritual sleep is lack of watchfulness. Such persons are not alert in the spirit; they could be prayerful but not watchful. In Mark 14:38, Jesus said it is not enough to pray, but we must watch to avoid temptation. You need information to pray effectively. Some people are prayerful yet their enemy is right in their house with them. A lady sometime ago was very prayerful, yet her best friend in the church snatched her husband. Everybody around them knew what was going on between her husband and her best friend, but she was foolishly blinded to it until a concerned person drew her attention to it. Not everyone in the church is a Christian. On your way to destiny, every man is a suspect until you get there. Those who were not watchful never made it to their destiny. Consider the case of Samson. He lost the glory, his strength and his vision. My God, open your eyes in Jesus name.

Rev. John Okene, Divine Touch Int’l Ministries
Warri, Delta State.
dtimchurch@gmail.com
Prayerline: +2348135952623