Spiritual Sleepwalking

 

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.  2 Chronicles 7:14

Sleepwalking is a somewhat dangerous undertaking, especially if it is in a spiritual sense.  Yet, that is precisely what is going on when people dabble in prayer but have little or no obedience to back up those prayers.

I recently watched a broadcast of a favorite TV show, Life Below Zero, a chronicling of several families living in the harsh weather conditions of the Arctic Circle.  Hunting is a staple to survive there; staying alert and using sound judgment is critical.  One of the main characters is Sue Aikens.  She runs a camp for vacationers who want an extreme experience.  For most of each year Aikens is alone.  She has the marks of some mistakes and unfortunate results, including having been mauled by a bear.

Facing her fears is a main theme in episodes that include Aikens.  In one such episode she has seen evidence of bear activity near the camp and has gone into protect my camp mode.  In preparing to stalk and kill the bear, she explains in deep detail all the precautions her previous life experience has taught, such as the equipment needed (guns, clothing, devices), and how she will stalk, and where.  And, just before heading out the door of her cabin, she adds one further precaution, looking upward she says (as she makes the sign of the cross) I do my little thing this way to protect me. 

Now, it takes more grit than I have to live alone in an environment like Sue Aikens has for two decades.  I know nothing of her faith commitment.  But what that one, isolated, religious throwback gesture represents (to my thinking) is the textbook, fear-motivated, last-resort, cover-all-your-bases-and-options prayer of a spiritual sleepwalker!  Frankly, you’d do as much rubbing a rabbit’s foot.

For the culture in which we live, rubbing the rabbit’s foot prayers are common.  When people get in deep, rough waters they scramble for any help, grasp at any straw, and most often take the credit if things work out well.

King Solomon was in the process of working on God’s temple, a project his father, King David had passed along to him.  God visited Solomon one night in a dream and shared this one, oft-quoted verse about the kind of prayer, and the kind of people God will hear – prayers that come from humble people seeking God’s will, God’s way, and people who realize and openly, constantly confess their sins, backed-up with the a lifestyle of turning away from all personal wickedness, giving all glory to God.

What did Solomon do when God showed him this timeless truth?  He continued building the Temple.  And he lived this truth, spending the rest of his days on planet earth seeking God’s way, God’s will, and turning away from wickedness to walk in the paths of righteous living.

For You Today

This verse is as uncomfortable as it gets – repentance, including confession and retracing your steps to make things right; that is the only antidote for spiritual sleepwalking.

The only other choice is to depend on a rabbit’s foot.  Some choice, eh?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image:  source unknown           W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For more posts on this topic see:   Eyes That Do Not See; Ears That Do Not Hear and Inconvenient Accountability