What Should I Do If I Feel Spiritually Empty or Distant from God?

What do you do when your heart feels numb and God feels far away?

If you’ve ever walked through a season of spiritual dryness, you’re not alone—and you’re not a failure. In this honest and hope-filled episode of Made for More Ministries, we explore what it means to feel spiritually empty and how God meets us right there.

We’ll cover:

• Biblical examples of faithful people who felt distant from God
• The most common causes of spiritual dryness
• What not to do when your soul feels empty
• 7 practical, grace-filled steps to reconnect with God
• What God may be doing in the silence

Whether you’re in a dry season now or want to support someone who is, this episode is a powerful reminder: God is closer than you think.

🕊️ Because you weren’t made to just survive—you were made for intimacy with Him.
 You were made for more.

Transcript

Welcome back to Made for More Ministries, where we help you grow in faith, walk with purpose, and live anchored in God’s truth—no matter where you are in your spiritual journey.

Today’s episode speaks to a season many believers quietly wrestle with:

“What should I do if I feel spiritually empty or distant from God?”

Maybe that’s where you are right now. You’re praying—but it feels like the words bounce back. You’re reading Scripture—but it doesn’t move you. You go to church—but your heart still feels numb or dry.

First, let me say this: You are not alone.

Spiritual dryness or distance doesn’t make you a bad Christian. It makes you a real one. And these seasons—though painful—can actually lead to some of the deepest spiritual breakthroughs in your life.

In this episode, we’ll explore:

• What causes spiritual dryness or distance
  
  
  
• Biblical examples of people who felt far from God
  
  
  
• What not to do when you feel empty
  
  
  
• And practical, grace-filled steps to reconnect with God again
  
  
  

Let’s dig in.

📖 Segment 1: You’re Not Alone—Even Heroes of Faith Felt This Way

One of the enemy’s lies during spiritual dryness is this: “You’re the only one who feels this way.”

But the truth is—some of the most faithful people in Scripture experienced seasons where God felt far away.

🔹 David

A man after God’s own heart—yet he wrote:

“Why, Lord, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” – Psalm 10:1

David knew what it was to cry out and feel like God wasn’t answering.

🔹 Job

In the middle of unimaginable suffering, Job said:

“If I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him.” – Job 23:8

Job was faithful—but he still felt abandoned.

🔹 Jesus

Even Jesus, in His humanity, cried out:

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Matthew 27:46

If you feel spiritually empty, know this: you’re not broken. You’re human.

And God is still near—even when you don’t feel it.

🔍 Segment 2: Why Do We Feel Distant from God?

There are many reasons someone might feel spiritually dry or disconnected. Here are some of the most common:

1. Unconfessed Sin or Disobedience

Sin doesn’t make God love you less—but it does affect your closeness with Him.

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” – Psalm 66:18

Sometimes, distance isn’t because God moved—it’s because we did.

2. Spiritual Burnout

Serving too much, striving for perfection, or constantly “doing” for God can lead to exhaustion and numbness.

When your relationship with God becomes a checklist, it loses its intimacy.

3. Neglecting Spiritual Habits

When we drift from Scripture, prayer, worship, or community, we often start to feel far from God—because we’re not spending time with Him.

Like any relationship, connection takes consistency.

4. Unprocessed Pain or Disappointment

Maybe you’ve gone through something hard—loss, unanswered prayer, betrayal—and you’re carrying pain you haven’t brought fully to God.

Sometimes we withdraw emotionally, even without realizing it.

5. A Testing Season

There are times God allows silence—not to punish us, but to grow us.

Just like a teacher is quiet during a test, God sometimes allows us to walk by faith, not by feelings.

🧱 Segment 3: What Not to Do When You Feel Distant

When you’re spiritually dry, it’s tempting to respond in unhelpful ways. Here are a few traps to avoid:

🚫 1. Don’t Fake It

You don’t need to pretend everything’s fine. God is not impressed by performance. He wants your honesty.

Read the Psalms. They’re full of raw, unfiltered emotion—and God called David a man after His own heart.

🚫 2. Don’t Isolate

Spiritual dryness often leads us to pull away from church, community, and even God Himself. But isolation only makes the distance grow.

This is when you need truth-telling friends and godly support more than ever.

🚫 3. Don’t Quit Spiritual Habits

When prayer feels empty or Scripture feels dull, the temptation is to stop. But spiritual habits are like a lifeline—even when they feel dry.

Keep showing up. Consistency creates connection.

🌱 Segment 4: 7 Practical Steps to Reconnect with God

If you’re in a spiritually dry or distant season, here are some grace-filled, practical ways to draw near to God again.

✅ 1. Get Honest with God

Start with raw, unfiltered prayer. Tell God exactly how you feel—even if it’s anger, sadness, confusion, or apathy.

“Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” – Psalm 62:8

God already knows. And He wants the real you.

✅ 2. Return to the Word—Even If It Feels Flat

You don’t need to read for an hour. Start small. Go to the Psalms, the Gospels, or Romans 8. Read slowly. Ask God to speak.

His Word is living and active—even if it doesn’t feel alive at first.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” – Romans 10:17

✅ 3. Reconnect with Community

Reach out to a friend, join a Bible study, or simply ask someone to pray for you. Don’t walk through dryness alone.

“Encourage one another daily… so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:13

Others can carry your faith when yours feels weak.

✅ 4. Slow Down and Rest

Sometimes, spiritual emptiness is tied to physical or emotional exhaustion.

Take a break. Unplug. Get sleep. Journal. Take a walk without your phone. Let God restore you through stillness.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” – Psalm 23:2–3

✅ 5. Ask God to Search Your Heart

If sin, bitterness, or unresolved pain is blocking intimacy with God, invite Him in.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… see if there is any offensive way in me.” – Psalm 139:23–24

He doesn’t shame you. He heals you.

✅ 6. Rediscover Simple Worship

Put on worship music. Light a candle. Sit in silence. Let your heart remember who He is—even if all you can whisper is, “I trust You.”

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” – James 4:8

He responds to the smallest reach of your heart.

✅ 7. Keep Walking by Faith, Not Feelings

Feelings will come and go. But God’s presence never leaves.

“The righteous will live by faith.” – Romans 1:17

Some of the most powerful spiritual growth happens when we choose to trust even when we don’t feel a thing.

🌄 Segment 5: What God Is Doing In the Silence

If you’re in a spiritually dry season, it may feel like nothing is happening. But here’s the truth:

God does some of His deepest work in the quiet places.

Just like roots grow deep in drought, your soul is being grounded in ways you can’t yet see.

Sometimes, the silence is God calling you deeper.

• Deeper into trust
  
  
  
• Deeper into surrender
  
  
  
• Deeper into a faith that’s not based on emotion, but on intimacy
  
  
  

And when the breakthrough comes—and it will—your joy will be even greater because you’ll know: you walked with God in the valley, not just on the mountaintop.

✨ Final Takeaways

Let’s recap what we’ve covered today:

• Feeling spiritually empty or distant doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human.
  
  
  
• Even David, Job, and Jesus experienced the silence of God.
  
  
  
• Don’t isolate, fake it, or give up. Be honest, stay connected, and keep showing up.
  
  
  
• God is not disappointed in you. He’s drawing you deeper.
  
  
  
• And even when you can’t feel Him—He is still right there with you.
  
  
  

🙏 Closing Encouragement

If you’re listening today and your heart feels numb, your soul feels tired, and God feels far away, I want to speak this over you:

You are still loved.
 You are still seen.
 And you are not beyond reach.

Let this be your prayer today:

“God, I miss You. I need You. I don’t feel You—but I choose to trust You.
 Help me reconnect. Soften my heart. Revive my spirit.
 I’m not looking for a perfect feeling—I’m just longing for You.”

And friend—He will meet you there.

You were made for more than spiritual survival.
 You were made for communion, closeness, and joy in the presence of your God.

📖 Scripture References in This Episode

• Psalm 10:1
  
  
  
• Job 23:8
  
  
  
• Matthew 27:46
  
  
  
• Psalm 66:18
  
  
  
• Psalm 62:8
  
  
  
• Romans 10:17
  
  
  
• Hebrews 3:13
  
  
  
• Psalm 23:2–3
  
  
  
• Psalm 139:23–24
  
  
  
• James 4:8
  
  
  
• Romans 1:17
  
  
  

📢 Outro

Thanks for listening to Made for More Ministries. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone walking through a hard season, or message us—we’d love to pray for you.

And remember: silence is not absence. Dryness is not defeat.
 Keep pressing in. Keep trusting. And never forget—

You were made for more.