Why You’re Feeling Spiritually Dry and What to Do When God Feels Distant

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1 NKJV

I’ve struggled with being so distracted during my quiet times with God lately. There has been so much going on in the world, and I’ve been more focused on watching that than seeking Him.

Mornings with Jesus have felt distant because at the forefront of my mind is the state of the world rather than the state of my own heart. At these times I need to be seeking His direction more than ever, but instead, I have found myself scrolling and taking in more opinions, stories with broken or partial facts, and fear-mongering than is good for one person in a lifetime.

Maybe you’ve found yourself here before.

Noise Drowns Out His Voice

I’ve learned that the noise I allow into my life is what distracts me from and drowns out the voice of the Father.

The amount of noise that is available and accessible to us is like no other time in history. Social media has been designed to hook you and keep you scrolling as long as possible. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is reach for my phone. It’s an instinct, an impulse that I’ve trained my body to do over time. Now, I’ve come to the place of recognizing it and not being okay with it.

When I sit down to meet with God, I’ve grown restless in the stillness which God has been drawing me into for many years. I was making progress, and yet somewhere along the way I allowed my phone space in my sacred time with Jesus.

It’s not God who has become distant; it’s me. He doesn’t shame me or make me feel guilty. But He loves me enough to bring it to my attention, so I know why I am so spiritually dry.

The noise has simply drowned Him out, which has, in turn, dried me up.

His Voice Against the World

It’s not just the phone, either, but what scrolling on the phone does to me even after I put it down. I have the urge to do more. I have the compulsion to keep up, to be different. But it’s not God who is calling me to these things; it’s the world. On the surface, they can seem harmless. In reality, they are another distraction.

God’s voice is clear here. It’s His voice I hear when I set the phone down and the world’s voice that lures me back when I pick it up again. Who is my god here?

Maybe for you, it’s not your phone. Maybe it’s Netflix, staying busy, or a mind that won’t rest. All this noise makes it hard to hear the voice of God.

His Voice Is the Word

The constant noise makes opening my Bible feel impossible. It’s hard to put into words, but it is truly a spiritual battle at play in these moments. Although the choice is within my grasp, I tend to reach for the easier thing instead of breaking through the tension and discomfort to get to the living water for my soul.

Once that breakthrough happens, it’s like a flood, and it’s amazing! His voice is strong and heard through His Word.

It can feel like a big secret or some super spiritual act to hear God’s voice, but it’s really quite simple.

His Presence Over Your Feelings

God’s Word is a balm for a weary soul when we can break through the chaos to get to the calm of His presence. We simply need to make that choice to show up–not just physically but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. To be fully present with Him.

How?

Savor His Word. It’s easy to read the Bible as part of a checklist of to-dos. Instead, take it in slowly. I’ve just begun to learn of the practice of Lectio Divina, which is simply Latin for divine reading. It is rooted in early Christian traditions, and it’s a method of reading a short passage of Scripture slowly and aloud, savoring the Word, reflecting on what it means, dialoguing with God about it, and then resting silently in God’s presence and enjoying being in union with Him.

Trust His presence over feelings. Sometimes we equate God’s presence with feeling Him there, but He’s there whether we feel Him or not. He’s the very air we breathe. In the same way that most of us don’t tune into our own breathing rhythms, we often don’t tune into His presence. Our bodies and minds are so trained to always be moving and working that it’s challenging and uncomfortable to be still. We associate stillness with laziness, but when our heart posture is pure, it’s the furthest thing from lazy.

Be honest. You don’t need to put on a show for God. He already knows. But sometimes, a huge weight can be lifted when we are honest about the things weighing us down. It could be circumstances making you anxious, a struggle with sin, or feelings you don’t know what to do with. Let Him have all of it. He’s not ashamed of you or condemning you because of what you carry. He invites you to share so He can enter in.

Practice the Presence of God

Your roots grow deep in the secret place with God. He cultivates your heart in spaces no one else can see. The trouble is, He cannot renovate our hearts when we are too busy to slow down, seek Him, and sit in the stillness with Him.

Spiritual dryness doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by neglect. Oh, we don’t do it on purpose, perhaps. But we aren’t solely seeking Him and slowing down on purpose either. Choosing one thing automatically starves the other.

I’m once again starving the distractions so I can get back to my sacred mornings with Jesus.

In His Word 

For in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)

In Your Life

Maybe you picked up your phone this morning before you prayed. Or your quiet time hasn’t felt very quiet in a while. Maybe God feels far, and you’re not sure how you got here. Sweet friend, that awareness is itself a gift. It means something in you is still hungry for more of Him. Don’t ignore that hunger. Let it lead you back. Back to stillness. Back to His Word. And back to the sacred, unhurried space where He speaks and your soul finally exhales.

We Recommend

Reclaiming Quiet is a beautiful and thought-filled book about understanding that quietness is the place where God is already waiting for us. Sarah shows how reclaiming quiet is an invitation to cultivate a life of holy attention over patterns of anxiety and hurry.

“I hungered for quiet, not just the cessation of noise but that deep inward hush in which the kindness of God is the light burning at the back of our eyes so that we look upon the world in the brightness of his companionship.” –Sarah Clarkson

Let’s Connect

Christin is a creative soul with a love for beauty and a deep hunger for the presence of God. She writes from the honest, sometimes messy middle of the Christian life. No polish, no pretense, just real words for real women who are learning to slow down and seek Him in the noise. Join her at Savor the Sacred on Substack.