Passion for God fading: treat it as a red flag, diagnose sin, then take outward spiritual actions to let the heart follow
Q17 from Langille Zandi: How do you counsel someone whose passion for the Lord is dying — not praying, not reading the Bible?
Winger advises first treating spiritual coldness as a red flag and praying for restoration. Then evaluate whether specific sin is draining the passion. If no clear sin is visible, engage in outward spiritual disciplines regardless of feeling: pray, read Scripture, attend church, put on worship music. The heart and emotions often lag behind deliberate steps toward God — keep walking toward him and the heart will eventually follow. He cites James 4 (draw near to God and he will draw near to you) and the mourning/repentance call in James (outward acts of mourning prompt inward transformation). He also points to the letter to Ephesus in Revelation 2 — they lost their first love and were told to go back and do the first works. The prescription: recall and repeat the spiritual practices from the height of your love for God.
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