There was a time when faith felt effortless. Maybe for you, it was a late-night conversation with friends where everything just clicked, or a season when prayer felt like an actual conversation instead of leaving voicemails for God.
But lately? It’s dry. Like really dry. Like you’re wandering through a spiritual desert, scanning the horizon for some kind of oasis, but all you’ve got is dust and a vague memory of what water tastes like.
You still do the right things—showing up at church, maybe reading a devotional here and there—but it all feels a little…empty. Like you’re waiting for something to spark again, but it just won’t. And, if you’re honest, you’re starting to wonder if this is just how it is now.
The good news? This isn’t the end of your faith story. The spiritual desert isn’t a dead-end; it’s just a hard season. And seasons—especially the tough ones—are where real growth happens. So if you’re feeling stuck, here’s how to push through the dryness and start growing again.
Step One: Stop Trying to Manufacture a Spiritual High
One of the biggest mistakes we make when faith feels stagnant is assuming we need to feel something to grow. Thanks to an era of conference culture, overproduced worship sets and social media testimonies that make everyone else’s faith look like a Nicholas Sparks movie, we’ve equated spiritual depth with emotional intensity.
But let’s be real: feelings are unreliable. If your faith only feels real when you’re crying at the bridge of “Oceans,” what happens on a random Tuesday when you’re just…fine? God isn’t more present in a stadium full of raised hands than He is in your ordinary, quiet life. Sometimes, growth is choosing faithfulness when you don’t feel a thing.
Step Two: Embrace the Boring, Ordinary Work of Faith
We love a good “mountaintop moment.” But the reality? Most of faith is spent in the valley. And that’s actually where growth happens. When you don’t feel anything but still show up—reading Scripture even when it’s not “hitting,” praying even when it feels like silence, going to church even when the sermon doesn’t feel directly aimed at your life—you’re developing resilience.
Dallas Willard once said, “Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.”
In other words, spiritual growth takes work. Not performative work, not striving to make God proud of you, but putting in the unglamorous, unseen effort that leads to maturity.
Step Three: Start Asking Better Questions
One reason faith stagnates is that we stop being curious. We settle into comfortable answers, easy theology and prepackaged Christian clichés instead of wrestling with the complexities of God. But if you read Scripture, you’ll notice that people who grew in faith were often the ones asking hard questions.
Jesus never rebuked people for asking tough things. “Lord, why don’t you care?”—a direct quote from the disciples mid-storm (Mark 4:38). “How can this be?”—Mary’s response to an angel telling her she was pregnant with the Messiah (Luke 1:34). “Why have you forsaken me?”—Jesus Himself on the cross (Matthew 27:46).
God isn’t afraid of your doubt. He’s not offended when you don’t understand something. So start pressing in. Read theologians who challenge you. Have conversations that make you think. Dig deeper instead of skimming the surface of your faith.
Step Four: Stop Going at It Alone
If you’re spiritually stuck, take a look at who’s in your corner. Are you surrounded by people who challenge you? Encourage you? Hold you accountable? Or are you trying to muscle through faith solo?
Christianity was never meant to be an independent study. Hebrews 10:24-25 reminds us to spur one another on and not give up meeting together. Why? Because when we isolate ourselves, it’s easier to stay stagnant. But when we’re in community, we’re pushed toward growth.
Find friends who are pursuing God seriously. Join a Bible study where people actually talk about their struggles instead of pretending everything’s fine. And if your current church experience feels shallow, consider plugging into a group where you can ask real questions and wrestle through things together.
Step Five: Expand Your Definition of Worship
If “growing in faith” makes you think of morning quiet time and nothing else, it’s time to broaden your understanding of worship. Faith grows in more ways than just reading your Bible and checking prayer off a to-do list.
Look at how Jesus lived. He met people where they were. He served. He made space for those who felt unseen. He engaged in real relationships. That’s all part of faith too.
So if sitting with your Bible for an hour feels daunting right now, start somewhere else. Go on a walk and talk to God out loud. Listen to a podcast that challenges you. Practice gratitude daily. Serve at a local ministry. Faith isn’t just about what happens in a church service; it’s about how you live every part of your life.
Step Six: Remember, Growth is Slow and Uncomfortable
We live in a culture obsessed with instant results. But spiritual growth is more like a slow, steady weightlifting routine than a crash diet. It takes consistency. It requires effort even when you don’t see immediate change.
And here’s the thing: the moments you feel nothing are often the moments God is doing the most in you. The roots of your faith are growing deeper. Your ability to trust is being stretched. Your spiritual muscles are being strengthened.
So don’t be discouraged if you’re in a season of waiting, wrestling or just plain boredom. Faith isn’t about feeling spiritual all the time—it’s about trusting that even when you don’t feel it, God is still working.
Step Seven: Keep Showing Up
The worst thing you can do when you feel stuck in your faith? Stop showing up. Stop praying. Stop engaging. Stop pursuing growth just because it doesn’t feel immediate.
God isn’t distant just because He feels silent. He isn’t absent just because things feel stagnant. Sometimes, He’s just calling you to a deeper kind of faith—one that isn’t built on hype, emotion or ease, but on real, lasting trust.
So keep going. Keep asking questions. Keep doing the ordinary, unsexy work of faith. Because one day, you’ll look back and realize that even when it felt like nothing was happening, God was growing something in you all along.
