Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
If Augustine’s words are true—and I’m convinced they are—then it’s no wonder everything feels off-kilter when God seems distant. The Puritans referred to such seasons as “the dark night of the soul,” while Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called it “spiritual depression,” and others have referred to it as “spiritual dryness.”
Whatever you call it—the symptoms are the same; it feels as if God has gone missing, the Scriptures go silent, and you wonder if your prayers are making it any higher than the ceiling. Instead of being filled with faith and hope, your most constant prayer request is, “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9: 24). Simply put, it’s a miserable experience for a believer.
Sometimes spiritual dryness is a result of unconfessed sin. Other times it just happens. Keep in mind that it’s during difficult times we learn to walk by faith and not sight. But when God feels distant, the book of Psalms offers a handful of cues that will make the season more tolerable and perhaps bring it to an end as quickly as possible. If God feels distant, here are three cues from the Psalms:
- Confess and repent of known sins. Psalm 32:1-5. King David described what he felt like when he failed to confess his sins, “For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as the by the heat of summer.” Disobedience negatively impacts our relationship with God. Habitual sin is nothing to trifle with—it needs to be addressed. The only remedy is to confess and repent, and if we do so, Scripture makes it clear that God will forgive and restore us (1 John 1:9).
- Keep Seeking God. If you’re experiencing a time when God feels distant—keep seeking Him. David prayed, “You have said, “Seek my face. My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8). It’s crucial to keep engaging in the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, and worship, especially during times of spiritual dryness. Spiritual disciplines don’t earn God’s favor—only Jesus secures our acceptance before God. But spiritual disciplines like Bible study, prayer, and worship put us in a posture to receive His grace and feel intimacy. It’s impossible to have a close relationship with God apart from the spiritual disciplines—so keep doing the next faithful thing.
- Remember. In times of spiritual dryness, it’s essential to spend time thinking about your history with God and call to mind the ways He’s come through for you in the past. In Psalm 77, Asaph was so depressed he was too troubled to speak (Psalm 77:4). But he wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds (Psalm 77:11-12). Remembering ways God has come through in the past stirs your faith that He will do so again. If you’re alive today, God has a 100 percent success rate in bringing you this far—it will do you well to remember the specifics.
If you’re a believer and have stopped sensing God’s presence—the world grows dimmer by the day. David spoke to this when he prayed, “Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:1-2). Could it be that a season of spiritual dryness is what provides this profound clarity?
- How do you respond when God feels distant?
- In your experience, what is most helpful during times of spiritual dryness?
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