Sunday Sermon: When Your Fire Grows Cold

by Minister Denise N. Fyffe

There are times in the Christian life when you are not exactly backslidden, but you are not burning the way you used to either. You still believe. You still pray sometimes. You still know your Bible. But something has cooled. The hunger is weaker. The urgency is gone. Worship feels routine. The distractions of life have crept in, and what used to move you spiritually barely gets your attention anymore.

I know what it is to go through changing seasons in my walk with God. I got saved young, and over the years there were times of fire, times of battle, times of disappointment and times when I pulled away from church because I had been hurt and discouraged. Yet God continued working on me. I have written about becoming battle weary while still remaining on duty. That is one reality of a long Christian journey: you can love God and still become tired.

But tiredness must not become spiritual indifference.

Scripture Focus

Jesus speaks directly to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2. They had works, labor, patience and discernment. They were not lazy believers. Yet in Revelation 2:4 He says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” (NKJV).

That should get our attention. It is possible to be busy doing Christian things and still drift from intimacy with Christ.

Jesus did not tell them they had lost doctrinal knowledge. He told them something had happened to their love.

You Can Be Busy for God and Still Drift From God

This is one of the dangers of ministry, church work and even Christian content creation. We can become so busy producing, serving, teaching, praying for others, attending meetings or working on projects that we stop sitting with God for ourselves.

Martha experienced this in Luke 10:38–42. She was serving Jesus, but she was distracted by much serving. Mary sat at His feet and listened.

Jesus did not condemn service. He corrected distraction.

There is a difference between doing something for God and being with God. We need both.

I have had to relearn this in different seasons. Sometimes God draws me aside because I have been pouring out for others and He wants what I call “me time” with me. The pulling away may look like isolation to others, but sometimes God is reclaiming our attention.

Distractions Can Quietly Become Idols

Years ago, I became convicted about how much time social media was taking from my spiritual life. I wrote candidly about distractions in the Christian life and about realizing how easily technology can consume time that should belong to prayer, Scripture and fellowship with God.

I even went through seasons of Facebook fasting. In one of those testimonies, I described the first day as feeling almost like being denied air because reaching for Facebook had become so automatic. That experience exposed how deeply habits can grip us. You can read that account in my first week of Facebook fasting.

The issue is bigger than Facebook. Anything that consistently takes first place in our attention can become spiritually dangerous. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (NKJV).

Modern idols do not always look like statues. Sometimes they look like screens, careers, relationships, entertainment, money, work or even ministry itself.

Laodicea Shows Us the Danger of Lukewarm Faith

Revelation 3:15–16 records Jesus saying to the church in Laodicea, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot… because you are lukewarm… I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (NKJV).

This is strong language because spiritual complacency is serious.

Laodicea believed it was rich and in need of nothing, but Jesus said it was spiritually poor, blind and naked. Comfort had deceived them about their condition.

Sometimes hardship makes us pray more intensely. Then life settles down, and without realizing it, we start praying less. The danger is not peace itself. The danger is forgetting God when peace arrives.

Deuteronomy 8 repeatedly warned Israel about this. God knew that after hunger, wilderness and dependence came houses, food and prosperity. He warned them not to forget the Lord when they were full.

When Your Spiritual Appetite Changes

One sign that your fire may be cooling is when things that once fed your spirit no longer interest you, but worldly distractions still excite you.

Another is when prayer becomes only emergency communication. You do not talk to God until something goes wrong.

Another is when conviction weakens. Sin that once disturbed you becomes easier to excuse. You begin saying, “Everybody does it,” or “God understands,” without any real desire to change.

Another is when fellowship disappears. Hebrews 10:24–25 warns believers not to forsake assembling together, but to encourage one another. Church is not perfect because people are not perfect, but isolation without spiritual discipline can become dangerous.

I know firsthand that church hurt can push a believer away. I have written about handling hurt and changes in the Christian life. There were years when I did not attend church regularly, yet God continued dealing with me, drawing me and teaching me. But eventually I had to recognize that fellowship still matters.

Return to Your First Love

Jesus gives the church at Ephesus a practical response in Revelation 2:5: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works.” (NKJV).

Three movements: remember, repent, return.

Remember what your relationship with God was like when your heart was tender. Remember the hunger. Remember the joy of reading Scripture. Remember the prayers that were not rushed.

Repent where necessary. Do not merely complain that you feel spiritually dry. Ask whether anything needs to change.

Then return to the practices that helped keep you close to God.

Rebuild the Fire Practically

Start with Scripture. Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Do not wait until you feel like reading. Discipline often comes before desire returns.

Restore prayer. It does not have to begin with an hour. Talk to God honestly. Tell Him that you feel cold. Ask Him to renew your hunger.

Fast where appropriate. Fasting is not a magic formula, but it can help bring the flesh under discipline and refocus our attention on God. My own social-media fasting experiences showed me how giving up one consuming habit created room for worship, Bible teaching and deeper prayer.

Return to worship. Ephesians 5:18–20 connects being filled with the Spirit with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and thanksgiving.

And serve from overflow, not emptiness. Ministry should flow from relationship with God, not replace it.

What This Means for Us Today

If your fire has grown cold, do not hide behind religious activity. God already knows.

Do not be ashamed to admit that you need renewal. David prayed in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (NKJV).

Ask yourself what is consuming your attention. Look honestly at your screen time, habits, entertainment, work schedule and relationships. Some things may not be sinful in themselves but may still be crowding God out.

Then make a concrete change. Turn something off. Wake a little earlier. Restart Bible study. Return to church fellowship. Take a fast. Put worship back into your environment.

Be Encouraged

The good news is that Jesus’ correction to Ephesus was an invitation, not merely a condemnation. He wanted them back.

Peter denied Jesus three times, yet John 21 shows Jesus restoring him and recommissioning him. Failure did not have the final word.

If your fire has cooled, it can burn again.

God is not asking you to pretend. He is asking you to return.

Continue Your Study

Read Distractions in the Christian Life and Handling Hurt in Your Christian Life as companion studies. If social media or technology has become spiritually consuming, my Facebook fasting testimony offers a practical example of reclaiming time for God.

Closing Prayer

Father, search our hearts. Show us where our love has cooled and where distractions have taken space that belongs to You. Forgive us for becoming comfortable with distance from Your presence.

Renew our hunger for Scripture. Restore our prayer lives. Give us conviction where we have compromised and discipline where we have become careless. Heal the church hurt and disappointment that has caused some to withdraw.

Holy Spirit, breathe again on every dry place. Restore joy, worship, obedience and spiritual sensitivity. Teach us to serve from intimacy with You rather than from routine. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

The Invitation

If you have never known Jesus Christ personally, this is your invitation to begin. If you once walked closely with Him but have drifted far away, this is your invitation to return.

Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (NKJV). Romans 10:9 teaches that if you confess the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Do not wait until you feel more spiritual. Come as you are, repent honestly and surrender your life to Christ.

Be encouraged. Be bold. Answer the Call.

In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.