What is a spiritual awakening?

what does the bible say?

A spiritual awakening is a revelation, breakthrough, or enlightenment that happens within one’s spiritual life. We become consciously aware of something spiritual that we did not know before. The idea of a spiritual awakening is popular in secular movements, such as New Age, and in several different religions, but not all spiritual awakening is sinful. From a biblical point of view, a spiritual awakening is a transformative work of the Holy Spirit that opens our hearts to the truth of God and Christ. Spiritual awakening begins at salvation, and continues as the Holy Spirit works in our lives and we grow in our love for Him through prayer, studying God’s Word, and fellowship with other believers. Spiritual awakening removes the blinders of sin and leads us from spiritual death to spiritual life, resulting in freedom and a growing desire to pursue Him.

from the old testament

• God awakens our hearts of stone and replaces them with a heart of flesh that seeks His will and desires. (Ezekiel 36:26)
• Isaiah experienced a spiritual awakening when he saw a vision of God, a vision that awakened him to his own sin and the sin of others: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).
• Nineveh feared God and repented with fasting and sackcloth after Jonah preached to them (Jonah 3:4-5). Recognition of sin and repentance of it is a type of spiritual awakening.

from the new testament

• Upon encountering Jesus, Zacchaeus repented, made amends to those he cheated and invited Jesus into his house for a meal (Luke 19:1-10). Zacchaeus’ spiritual awakening prompted Jesus to say, “. . . Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:9-10).
• Over three thous and people were saved at Pentecost when Peter preached the Gospel to them (Acts 2:1-41).
• A eunuch from Ethiopia was saved after Philip explained the Scriptures to him (Acts 8:26-38).
• Saul of Tarsus was chosen and awoken by Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).

implications for today

From money to handbags to AI-generated social media posts, counterfeits are plentiful. The same applies to counterfeit spiritual awakening. At times, people who claim to have come to Christ are actually “ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15), the weeds that Satan plants among the wheat (Matthew 13:24-30). Many non-Christian versions of spiritual awakening are rooted in mysticism, New Age thinking, or other religions. Such worldly versions of a spiritual awakening could, in reality, be no more than an open door for the demonic (see 2 Corinthians 11:14–15; 1 Peter 5:8). Real spiritual awakening is through Jesus Christ alone. True spiritual awakening is like a light being shined in a dark room. After salvation, sin that we have willfully hidden or unhealthy thought patterns that we may not have been aware of, are exposed by the light of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit also shines a light on God’s truth, helping us to know God and to respond to Him. The Holy Spirit awakes us through prayer, Bible reading, sermons, and other believers, to name a few. As we seek God and yield to the work of His Holy Spirit, we become progressively freer and more unencumbered in our pursuit of the Lord for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18).

Recap

understand

• A spiritual awakening occurs when God removes the blinders that have kept us from seeing the truth of the Gospel.
• The Bible contains many examples of people awakening to the truth and turning from sin.
• Satan continues to blind those who reject the Gospel.

reflect

• How does your spiritual awakening figure into your personal testimony?
• When has the Holy Spirit revealed hidden sin or unhealthy patterns in your life?
• How do you seek to grow in your walk with God?

engage

• How can Christians engage those from New Age and other movements who have a false idea of spiritual awakening?
• What are some ways that Satan is blinding unbelievers in today’s culture, and how can we respond as believers?
• How can sharing our own spiritual awakening become a powerful testimony of God’s love to those around us?