10 Signs of Spiritual Dryness—And How to Escape It

Have you ever felt that something is just not right between you and God?

You are not living in sin. You are not running from Him. But you feel empty. Dissatisfied. And you cannot even explain why.

If that is you, chances are high that you are dealing with a spiritual condition the Bible describes but never names. We call it spiritual dryness.

And you would be surprised how common it is.

Today, we will look briefly at 10 signs of spiritual dryness. If you want, you can even calculate your own spiritual dryness score as we go. But first, let us understand what spiritual dryness actually is.

And at the end, I am giving away our book The Devotional Life, free of charge, as a PDF download.

What Is Spiritual Dryness?

Words alone are not the best way to explain this.

Picture a dry tree standing in the desert. Cracked ground. Withered leaves. No fruit. Now picture a green tree planted beside a beautiful stream. That picture alone can teach you everything you need to know.

But here are the basics.

1. God often uses trees to describe people. Nebuchadnezzar in his glory was described as a flourishing tree. The righteous are described as palm trees. [Daniel 4:20–22; Psalm 92:12]
2. As figurative trees, we have leaves, fruit, and roots. Leaves speak of the overall wellness and vitality of our lives. Fruit speaks of our works. Roots speak of our foundation.
3. God is water. And water is either life or death to a tree. Trees by the water flourish. Trees in the desert, far from water, dry up.
4. A dry tree is a life without access to God's life-giving power and presence. It is a life left to be beaten by the harsh conditions of the world around it.
5. A believer is already planted in God's house. Legally, the connection is made and the access is guaranteed. But practically, that same believer can live every day like a tree in the desert.

So here is a working definition:

Spiritual dryness is a spiritual condition in a believer, marked by a decline in spiritual vitality and fruitfulness, caused by a loss of practical access to the life-giving waters of God's presence and power.

But when a believer does have practical access to the water of life—the River of God—something glorious happens.

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3, KJV)

"For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:8, KJV)

Now let us look at the 10 signs.

And remember, I am not talking about spiritual dryness in sinners or unbelievers. I am talking about dryness inside God's house. Among you and me. In God's own children, who paradoxically have Rivers of Living Water dwelling in them—yet can still live very dry lives.

1. A Hardened Heart

For a believer, this is one of the deadliest and sneakiest signs.

God's River softens the soil of our hearts.

"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof." (Psalm 65:9–10, KJV)

Without that water, our hearts harden like rock.

This hardness shows up in three ways: disobedience, a lack of spiritual understanding, and difficulty believing God's Word. [Mark 8:17; Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:1–7]

A hardened heart is usually the first sign of spiritual drift. Treat it as an urgent warning. It means you are wandering into dangerous spiritual territory.

2. Spiritual Barrenness

The clearest mark of a withered tree is simple: no fruit.

For the Christian, spiritual fruit covers both our character and our works. It looks like love, joy, peace, righteousness, kindness, and forgiveness. It also looks like souls won for God and lives changed because of ours. [Galatians 5:22–23]

Are you winning souls for God? You are bearing fruit. Are you building up God's people and using your talents, gifts, money, and resources for His kingdom? You are bearing fruit. Do you have nothing to show God? That is barrenness.

Few things reveal the abundance of God's presence like His peace and His joy in our hearts.

So when anxiety, fear, or depression never lift, pay attention. That is your heart screaming for the River of God's presence. The same is true when any trait of the fruit of the Spirit is missing from your life.

3. Spiritual Emptiness

Unbelievers are without God's Spirit, so they have every reason to feel empty. They are always asking what the purpose of life is. Money, fame, and power have taught us the same lesson across the centuries: they do not satisfy.

But the story changes when God's own children still struggle with emptiness.

As God's palm trees, we are meant to thrive. We are filled with divine sap—His presence and His power—which secures our flourishing and our fruitfulness.

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing." (Psalm 92:12–14, KJV)

But when we neglect His Word and prayer, that nourishment dries up. We become empty, barren branches.

Many believers live with this inner void. Empty of power. Empty of joy. Empty of identity. Empty of the assurance of His presence.

Hear me: this emptiness is not proof that you are unsaved or that you are not God's child. It simply points to a journey through spiritual dryness.

4. Stunted Growth

Trees in dry places do not thrive. They only survive.

The same is true of a Christian in a dry place. It becomes hard to grow deeper in the knowledge of God. Hard to grow in love for God and for fellow believers. Hard to overcome the same recurring sins. Hard to grow in wisdom and power.

If you have been in the faith for years and still fight the same sins with no change in character, that is a signal. You are in a dry place.

Spiritual growth needs nourishment, just as a tree needs sap. And since sap depends on water, our growth stalls in a parched environment.

5. Distressing Dissatisfaction

Many Christians carry a deep unease in their spiritual life. They long for a peace that keeps slipping away.

Now, spiritual hunger is normally a sign of a healthy, receptive heart. But in a spiritual drought, that hunger turns painful.

In this state, believers feel their bond with the Lord has weakened. Instead of a close, intimate relationship with Him, they sense a vast distance—as if they and God live in two different worlds.

6. The Reign of Carnality

In the spiritual desert, the flesh is king. There are no flowing streams of the River of God's Spirit to hold it back.

When our hearts lack the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit's influence, the flesh takes over. And the ugly traits of the flesh come out into the open.

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies." (Galatians 5:19–20, KJV)

This one always gets me. It is one of the earliest warning signs that tells me I am drifting into dangerous territory.

But the flesh does not only show up in sinful behavior. It also shows up when we lean on our own wisdom and strength to serve God, instead of leaning on the Spirit. [2 Chronicles 32:8; 1 Corinthians 2:1–4; 1 Corinthians 3:1–3]

7. Instability

When we are rooted in Christ, we stand firm in our faith. [Colossians 2:7]

But a tree with dried roots is a picture of spiritual instability.

"His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off." (Job 18:16, KJV)

Dried roots leave a tree vulnerable. Every wind moves it—every new doctrine, every new movement, every new voice.

That is why believers in a dry season often wrestle with doubt. They question their salvation. They question their calling. They stay unsure of God's plan for their lives.

8. Hyperactivity

This one sounds backwards.

When we are spiritually dry, we often become more religious, not less. We fill our lives with Christian activity.

Instability and hyperactivity are closely tied. Jesus made the connection Himself when He spoke about the wilderness.

"And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?" (Matthew 11:7, KJV)

So ironically, one sign of dryness is a burst of spiritual activity. In their thirst for God, believers pile on more effort. They labor to please Him. They serve more in church to earn His favor. They run from conference to conference, always chasing what keeps slipping away.

These dead works never bring rest. They only wear the soul down further. In a dry place, true spiritual rest is nowhere to be found.

9. An Endless Series of Defeats

This one should be obvious to all of us. Our victory is rooted in God. When we are dry, life simply baffles us.

In a dry place, there is no victory over sin, no victory over bondage, and no victory over demonic oppression.

Yes, as Christians we still wrestle with sin. But how much daily defeat we suffer at sin's hands depends on how much of the flesh is active in our lives.

Let me pause here and say something important. These signs point to challenges in a genuine Christian's walk with the Lord. They do not mean you have lost your salvation. They do not mean your faith was never real. If you see these signs, they are simply telling you how deep the dryness has gone.

10. Spiritual Apathy

This last one is tricky.

Spiritual apathy is a loss of interest in the things of God. A believer in this state may not pray or read the Bible, even when they have plenty of time.

In dry seasons, they also start pulling away from other Christians. They skip church services. They drop out of small groups. They steer clear of conversations about God.

They usually cannot explain why. But slowly and quietly, they begin to avoid God's presence.

And how dangerous that is. This is one of sin's most potent strategies, and one of Satan's favorites. The one thing a dry tree needs most is water. So the first thing sin and Satan do is cut off every point of contact with God—until, on our own, our chances of recovery are zero.

These signs may finally put words to feelings you have carried for a long time but could never quite name.

And here is the good news: there is a remedy.

How to Overcome Spiritual Dryness

As a believer and as a ministry, let me tell you what we have seen. More than half of all spiritual dryness traces back to one thing: a neglect of prayer and God's Word.

A healthy spiritual life will cost you something. Not tithes. Not offerings. Not seeds. It will cost you time, devotion, commitment, and surrender. It will cost you quality communion with God in prayer, in His Word, and in Christian fellowship.

But there are other causes too.

One common cause is disobedience—straying off God's path. A life of sin is a spiritual desert. Unconfessed sin and ongoing sin are deadly.

Another cause is weakness in the storms of life. Sometimes it is not sin at all. Sometimes it is simply the pressure of life pressing down and draining our spiritual strength. For those in that place, the Lord has a promise:

"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5, KJV)

Still, as I often teach, your devotional life is the thermometer of your spiritual life.

So if your spiritual dryness score is 5 or more—meaning five or more of those signs describe you—start here. Ask yourself two questions. Do I feed on God's Word regularly? What is my prayer life actually like?

Then do not be surprised by what you find.

A marathon runner who never eats will not wonder why he is exhausted at mile ten. But Christians somehow miss this same simple truth. Many wonder why they cannot overcome depression, or pornography, or speak with authority to a demon. Yet they pray and read the Bible for five minutes, two or three times a week, and expect a harvest far beyond what they have sown.

Brethren, if you truly grasp how vital God's Word and prayer are to your life, you will stop treating them as an afterthought. Make them a priority.

And for some of you, God is calling you into the inner courts to be with Him. Answer Him. Give Him the next two to three weeks, daily, and your life will be altered in ways you never thought possible.

No, you did not change. You simply activated the Rivers of Living Water that have been lying dormant inside you for years—buried under prayerlessness, or under worldliness, which is nothing more than giving the world more time than you give God.

Where Do You Stand?

Which of these signs are showing up in your life right now?

What will you do about them?

And what do you want the Spirit to do in your life?

Deshen App Is Live

The Deshen Bible App is now live on Google Play. The iOS version is still in review, so iPhone users, hang tight a little longer.

Once version 1 is fully out, here is what we are working on next:

• Training the AI Bible Study fully on the Inductive Bible Study method, with guidance for beginners and intermediates first, then advanced users later.
• Bringing the Deshen School of the Spirit videos fully into the App and onto the Deshen.app website.
• Adding more Bible translations—and more beyond that.

If you are an Android user, you can download the App below.

The Devotional Life Book: Free PDF Download

This newsletter is an excerpt from the first chapter of this book.

If you are spiritually dry, or walking through a season of dryness, I encourage you to take a moment and read it. I am giving it away free of charge.

There is nothing you will pay. But it is not free.

It will cost you time to read it. It will cost you time to act on it. And above all, it will cost you your yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. Maybe that means cutting back on scrolling through social media and starting to scroll through your Bible app instead. Maybe it means believing God again—believing that the River of God really is inside you, and that it can gush out.

Download it here.