5 Spiritual Needs You Must Not IgnoreSýnishorn

The Consequences of Neglecting Our Spiritual Needs.

Over these past days, we have talked about spiritual needs that often seem forgotten. The truth is each one of these needs is as real and as vital as our physical needs. We all know what happens when we stop breathing, eating, or sleeping—our bodies weaken, fall ill, and can even die.

But have you ever wondered what really happens when we neglect our spiritual needs? Just as our bodies show signs when something is wrong, our spirits also display symptoms when they are ignored—when they are not fed or connected to their source, which is Christ. Scripture tells us that whoever is burdened should come to the Father because He gives rest. And Jesus said that if anyone is thirsty, they should drink from Him, and they will never thirst again.

The sad reality is that we often ignore these signals—choosing to overlook them until the damage runs deep.

When I thought about today’s message, I remembered the images I have seen upon entering an Intensive Care Unit: people lying in beds, many weak or unconscious, receiving oxygen, drowsy, hooked up to IV drips. Then I thought of how many people in our churches today have spirits that are agonizing—not because God doesn’t love them (He loves us with eternal love), but because we have failed to respond. I imagined spirits connected to “spiritual IVs,” trying to survive on what little we give to God each week—often just two hours on a Sunday. Yet our spirits were designed to live in fullness, in constant communion with our Creator.

The hard truth is that some people sing, serve, and attend church, but they are disconnected from the Father’s heart. They live on “autopilot,” believing that just a small recharge is enough. If we had the ability to see beyond the surface, we would understand why so many struggle to lift their hands in worship during a service. I realized that we are full of weakened spirits—weak from the absence of true worship, genuine communion, and Biblical nourishment. We have countless people around us whose spirits are weakened by unhealed wounds or by a life where God is not the center.

We have confused activity with intimacy. We have replaced the essential with the superficial. As one pastor said, what is sacred has become common. Today, as you read these words, God reminds us that spiritual life is not automatic—much less can it be microwaved. Spiritual life must be cultivated, tended to, and protected.

Just as no one can survive without breathing, no one can truly live without being born again, without decreasing so Christ may increase, without being about our Father’s business, without passing through the fire of affliction, and without worship. These are not optional—they are essential needs.

Today’s Reflection:

Ask yourself: Am I truly alive, or am I merely surviving?

There is no time to ignore the warning signs or put them off until later. You were not called to merely survive—God called you to live in fullness. Do not become accustomed to living disconnected. It is time to return and drink from the source of eternal life.

Pray with me:

Father, I truly long for You to revive my spirit. I long to attend to every one of my spiritual needs. I want to enter the “spiritual emergency room” not just for my own healing, but to help others come out of it, just as You did for me. Help me never lose the wonder of being in Your presence. Help me to always seek more of You and never to drift away. Amen.

Thank you for joining me throughout these seven days of devotional. I pray this time has been a blessing to you. I lift every reader up in prayer, trusting that God will continue working according to His purpose in each of our lives.

With love in Christ,

Karla García

God bless you.