Recharging Your Spiritual Batteries

It was only 20 degrees outside, so I pulled on my big coat before trudging out to my snow-covered car. My breath puffed out like cigarette smoke inside my vehicle as I reached to press the button to start the car. I had a lot to do that afternoon, but first, I was eager to feel the heat inside my frozen automotive cocoon.

When I pressed the ignition button, the dashboard lit up and the radio came on. But the car didn’t start. I tried again. Still, no start. I’ve never met someone who hasn’t felt the sinking sensation of sitting in a car that won’t fire up. My battery was dead. Instant ugh. I looked at my passenger seat, filled with my plans for the day, and knew I wasn’t going anywhere until my battery was charged.

Those acid or lithium-filled rectangle boxes in our cars are metaphors for the spiritual part of who we are. Our spirits power our humanity. Even though we’re comprised of a physical body and mental capacity, our spirits power the essence of who we are. Our spirits hold our imaginations, our convictions, and our desires. Our spirits give us the ability to connect and love. God breathed His Spirit into us, as Paul the Apostle wrote when he quoted the Cretan philosopher, Epimenides, “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV).

At the time, Paul was in Athens, Greece, teaching the Grecians that their idols could not give or sustain life. Only God could! Yet, how quickly do we forget how God is the source of life and sustains our life? Let’s appreciate this reminder:

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Instead, he gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”
Acts 17: 24-25 NIV

Every breath we take is because God gives life to us. It’s mind-blowing when we think about it. While God sustains and maintains life, we often arrange our lives according to our agenda. So, it’s no wonder we attempt to run at a pace or carry excess weight beyond God’s plan. Too often, we’re too busy taking care of others or checking off our to-do list to notice our spiritual charge is running out or already completely drained.

Thankfully, there are clues that our batteries are draining, and there is a straightforward way to plug them in for a recharge.

Sitting in my cold car, I remembered an incident the week before when it took two tries to start my car. It was a brief incident, but I ignored that little flickering warning sign. Once my car started, I kept going and didn’t think about what that warning might mean.

There are flickering warning signs that our spiritual batteries are draining:

Complaining
Negative thoughts
No desire to pray
Scripture doesn’t sink in or convict
Sin doesn’t evoke sorrow
Absence from the life-giving Christian community

The good news is once we recognize those flickering warning signs, we can step toward a spiritual recharge instead of leaning into self-condemnation.

Prayer is our first step toward spiritual recharge. If God’s Spirit gives life to our mortal being, then prayer connects our spirit to God’s Spirit.

After I sat in my car for a while, I finally called AAA. It took two hours for the truck to arrive. The serviceperson had a mega-powered battery with jumper cables that he hooked to my car battery. Within seconds, my car turned on.

That day, I thought about prayer like spiritual jumper cables. When you pray, you demonstrate a posture and desire to connect with the supernatural, all-powerful God. Prayer is a connector, but God’s Spirit holds your supply of life-transforming power. You can’t receive that power until you decide to connect.

What could spiritual recharge look like for you today? If you recognize that your spiritual batteries are drained, perhaps these words from Psalm 25 can be a recharging prayer for you today:

“O Lord, I give my life to you.
Show me the right path, O Lord;
    point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God who saves me.
    All day long I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:1, 4-5 NLT

I’d love to pray for you:

God, I pray for my friends who are feeling drained by life or circumstances. Thank You for being our source of life, strength, and hope. Renew my friend today as she connects to You. Renew her heart. Please renew her strength and hope in You. Amen.