5 Ways to Regain Your Spiritual Fire

1. Make sure you’re seeking God first.

Matthew 6:33 says:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

It is clearly God’s will for us to seek Him first. He wants to be the MOST important Person in our lives, not the least–and not even second. He wants our time with Him to be the most important thing we do all day. He wants to be put FIRST, before everything else. And He deserves that!

Years ago, after I made Jesus the Boss and Master of my life, I began to seek Him in the mornings after I had eaten breakfast, showered, etc. But after awhile, as I prayed and asked the Lord to draw me closer to Him, I got convicted about this.

Why did I get convicted?

Because the Lord showed me that, by eating breakfast before seeking Him, my stomach was more important to me than He was. My comfort was more important than He was.

When I got ready for work before I sought Him, He showed me that even looking nice for my office job was more important to me than He was–because I sought that first.

Whatever you do first is most important to you. So you can tell where your priorities are by looking at what you do first.
I got so convicted when the Lord showed me this. I asked Him for help, and I began to seek Him truly first. I would get out of bed, grab my Bible and journal, and sit down for prayer and time in the Word. And you know what? That little change made all the difference.

Holy Spirit is really sensitive about this.

Even today, I can still feel a major difference in my morning time with the Lord if I check my phone and my Facebook before I seek the Lord. It’s so easy to get caught in that trap of waking up, catching up on your Facebook notifications, checking emails, responding to messages, and THEN seeking God–after you feel like everything else is out of the way.

But you know what? Even that is NOT seeking God first.

When I do all that before I open my Bible and begin to pray and read, I feel the hurt of Holy Spirit. I know I have grieved Him, and there is FAR less fire in my morning quiet time with Him. (Sometimes, it’s just plain dry when I don’t put Him first!)

So of course, then I have to repent and ask His forgiveness–and ask Him to help me truly seek Him first the next time.

However, when I get out of bed, go into my woman-cave where I study and pray, and immediately sit down with Father to seek Him (ignoring my phone)? WOW! I can tell a WORLD of difference:

It’s like He’s sitting beside me in a tangible way.
I can touch Him and feel Him.
I can hear Him clearly.
I get SO much more out of my time in the Word.
Creative ideas come fast and furious.
Holy Spirit sits down upon me in a tangible way, and He feeds my soul.
It really does make an amazing difference when you seek God first.

After all, seeking Him first is just plain obedience. So it makes total sense that He would bless our obedience, and that our disobedience would not be blessed.

I challenge you today to look at your daily routine. What do you put before the Lord?
Anything you put before the Lord is an idol to you. If you wake up and do All The Things, or even Anything, before you seek God, then God is not first and something else IS first–which makes that “something else” an idol. It’s clearly not God’s will for us to have idols–and He will bless us when we dethrone and cast idols out of our lives.

If you want to regain your spiritual fire, key #1 is to make sure you’re seeking God first. Every day. Every week. Every month.

2. Ask the Lord to help you live on fire for Him.

John 15:5 says:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

We can’t do anything without Jesus. Nothing, nada, zilch. That includes living on fire for God! Therefore, if you want to regain your spiritual fire, you need to ask the Lord to help you.

This step can be really simple.
It’s as easy as a heartfelt prayer–one little sentence breathed out to the Lord:

“Father God, Lord Jesus, please help me to burn for You. Set me on fire for You.”

Remember that you didn’t even give your life to Jesus by yourself. In John 6:44, Jesus said:

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Everything we do–absolutely everything–requires God’s help. We cannot do anything at all without Him. So why would we try to drum up a fiery lifestyle without Him? We can’t, so don’t even try it by yourself.

Of course you should do whatever you can, but ask the Lord to help you first and foremost–and ask Him daily.

Again, that prayer is: “Father God, Lord Jesus, please help me to burn for You. Set me on fire for You.” It’s one simple prayer that will change your life, for He will answer it every time.

3. Make sure you attend a local, fiery church every week.

Fire is contagious. If you’re not worshipping and seeking God with fiery people, you are not likely to be on fire yourself. To remedy this, BE SURE you’re attending a local, fiery church every week. In person! And if you don’t have a local church like that in your area, either move or pray about starting one. Yes, it’s that important!

When I worship in person with other believers at my local church, my spiritual fires get stoked. I come out burning for God in a whole new way!

On the other hand, if I’m traveling or sick or unable to attend church for a few weeks for any reason (as happened this year with the nasty virus quarantines and regulations), I can tell a huge difference:

My attitude toward God becomes more callous.
My attitude toward church becomes more “take-it-or-leave-it.”
I start feeling like “this is fine” just to have 1×1 time with the Lord, without church attendance–even though I know that is false, Biblically.
My spiritual fires dim and sputter.
But then, that first Sunday back in church with other believers in person, oh what a difference!
When I’m actually, physically present in church:

Tears run down my face;
I’m enveloped in glory;
I get all fired up;
I get re-sensitized to the Lord;
and I remember why church attendance is so necessary.
Beloved, 2020 has been a terrible year for church attendance for many people because churches have been closed per government regulation.

But even after churches have reopened, many people aren’t back in church.
Beloved, if this is you, please: go back to church. Get your family back in church. There is NO substitute for the in-person fire, worship, Word, community, and discipleship that you get in person, in church. GO TO CHURCH!

4. Fast. Even one meal a week helps.

The lifestyle of fire is a lifestyle of fasting. There’s no getting around it. But a lifestyle of fasting doesn’t mean you have to flagellate yourself, live on bread and water, and climb a mountain on your knees. Fasting is not the same as punishment, and it’s not the same as penance either.

Fasting is a voluntary offering to the Lord.
True fasting is when you get your heart right before the Lord by offering Him something meaningful to you, in order to spend more time with Him. True fasting is when you hand Him your breakfast, lunch, dinner, or anything else important to you, and you say:

“Abba Father, will You take this while I just sit here and stare at You awhile? And can we talk, and laugh, and dance together? I want YOU more than I want that thing.”

God honors that true fast every time. He will ALWAYS meet you at the point of true sacrifice. As Pastor Bill Johnson says, “Fire always falls on sacrifice.”

So do you want to regain your spiritual fire?
If so, try fasting one meal. Try giving up desserts, coffee, Facebook, television, or even fun activities with your friends for a period of time as a sacrificial offering to the Lord. Get alone with the Lord instead of engaging in those things, even if it’s only for the duration of one meal!

When you do, God will always answer you.

5. Surround yourself with worship and worship music.

Music is one of the only things you can truly do while doing other things. You can listen to music and clean the house, work, sew, cook, or whatever else. I used to listen to music while performing complex financial analyses in my corporate job–and it was fine!

Why? Because listening to music engages a different part of your brain than most other activities.
This means that you can WORSHIP, turning your heart toward the Lord in thanksgiving, praise, and adoration, at the same time as you are doing other things. You may not be able to focus or concentrate if you listen to jazz, rock, or pop music; I don’t know. But if you haven’t tried it yet, odds are good that you WILL be able to listen to worship music while you do other things.

So, I encourage you to surround yourself with worship and worship music.
Every moment is a moment in which you can worship the Lord, so why would you ever want to miss out? If you want to regain your spiritual fire, worshipping the Lord is a key part of that, so don’t miss any opportunity!