Do you always struggle with sleep whenever the preacher mounts the podium to preach?
How to prevent sleeping in church during the sermon involves:
- First, you have to understand or find out why you usually sleep off in church during the sermon.
- Acknowledge how bad it is to sleep in church while the preacher is declaring the Word of God.
- And then become intentional about keeping from falling asleep in church, especially during sermon time.
In this post, I am going to suggest 9 practical ways you can stop sleeping in church during sermons.
Read also: 8 Obvious Reasons Why People Sleep In Church During The Sermon Period
How to stop yourself from sleeping In church during sermons are:
1. Sleep well the night before.
If you are intentional about staying awake and being alert while the preacher preaches, you have to make plans for yourself that can help you achieve it, such as going to bed early the night before. Make sure you have adequate sleep the previous night.
We may say that we love the Lord and that he is our number one. But what speaks louder about how much we love Him, His things, and His word is our action, as one said that action expresses priorities.
If you love the Lord and the fellowship of the brethren, why not prepare yourself ahead of time to be strong and alert during the service by having enough sleep the night before?
Who or what takes priority over God in our lives?
Leonard Ravenhi
2. Avoid taking sedative medications.
If taking medication is not a necessity before going to church, especially sedative medications, you can leave them till you return from the church.
This is because once you take a sedative drug, it will enhance the activity of your brain’s chemical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and it has the potential to reduce overall brain activity. The suppression of brain activity leads a person to become more relaxed and drowsy.
Therefore, if you take such drugs before going to church, you will be susceptible to dozing off, especially at the time when the sermon is being preached.
So, to avoid sleeping off in church so that you won’t be deprived of whatever God has for you, stay away from taking any sedative drugs if that doesn’t go against the instruction of your doctor.
3. Have a light breakfast:
Some people can remain alert and agile while fasting, and they can go to church without taking their breakfast, yet they won’t sleep off in the church.
Some other people can cope with heavy meals. They can remain agile even after eating heavy foods or foods that make other people sleep.
But the alertness of the majority of people is affected by the kind of food they eat.
To avoid dozing off in the church during the sermon, you must first understand your body to know what works best for you.
If fasting makes you feel tired, unable to focus, and drowsy, try having a very light breakfast before going to church. Don’t yield to the temptation of eating too much because it can also make you feel tired and drowsy. Also, avoid food that contains high levels of sleep-promoting compounds.
4. Follow the sermon actively:
What do I mean by saying that you should follow the sermon actively?
Just using your ears alone to listen to the preacher, or just staring at him, may not be enough to keep you awake.
You can avoid sleeping off in church during the sermon by participating actively in the way of jotting down the sermon as the preacher preaches. Even as you look at the preacher, his lips, body movement, and hand gestures, try writing.
Things to jot down include:
- The topic of the sermon
- The name of the preacher
- The date the sermon is being preached
- The scriptures that he has mentioned
- The nuggets he releases as he preaches
- And also the lessons you are learning from the sermon.
By jotting down the sermon, you’ll not only keep yourself awake, you’ll also understand the sermon better. This method of jotting down points helps me a lot while listening to sermons and as well while receiving lectures as a student. I hope you try it out if you haven’t been doing it. Next time you go to church, don’t forget to go with your pen and jotter or whatsoever you take notes with.
Another way to participate actively is by responding to the preacher whenever he says something like, “Hallelujah!” When he says, “Praise God!,” It would be very helpful if you replied. By constantly replying, you can keep yourself alert and, on the other hand, keep the preacher motivated while you praise God.
5. Stand up and walk around:
If sleep seems uncontrollable, and moving around will not distract other people, you can stand up and move around while the sermon is ongoing. By doing so, you can keep yourself from sleeping off in the church while the sermon is ongoing. You also won’t deprive yourself of the faith-increasing effect of listening to the word of God as it is being preached.
You can also join the ushering department if possible. This is beneficial for you if you are the type of person who normally falls asleep while the preacher takes the stage to teach the word of God. Instead of falling asleep during the sermon, becoming an usher will keep you busy rousing people who are sleeping. Isn’t that a brilliant idea?
6. Avoid sitting relaxed.
You might be tempted to sit in a slumped backward position or lean forward on the pew just in front of you. Please, if you want to avoid dozing off, don’t even think of yielding to such temptation.
Instead, perching on the edge of your seat while you listen to the sermon can improve your alertness.
7. Set your mind right.
You can avoid falling asleep in church during the sermon by working on your mind.
First, you must ask yourself some questions that can help you to discover what your motives are. Then work on your motive by considering the kind of person you’re going to be in His presence. Once your mind is in order, and you set out to go to church, you will hardly doze off.
“I believe that the mind powers the body, and once the mind says we want to do it, then the body will follow.”
Lance Armstrong
8. Take a caffeinated drink or coffee, if necessary.
If you have tried some of the ways I have listed earlier, and you still see yourself dozing off during sermons, I would advise you to consider taking caffeinated drinks before heading to church.
Caffeine is found in drinks like coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, etc.
Caffeine is a stimulant that enhances alertness. Adenosine is a sleep-promoting chemical in your body, but caffeine antagonizes its receptors. Caffeine, therefore, prevents you from feeling sleepy by blocking the adenosine receptors.
Taking a caffeinated drink before going to church can help you stay alert throughout the service.
9. Pray about it.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (NKJV)
I believe you are not comfortable sleeping in church during a sermon. If that’s the case, why not turn to God in prayer?
Tell the Lord how you love him and how you are being deprived of his precious word due to sleepiness. Ask him to have mercy on you and help you. I believe that He who made the body can manage it. I believe God will surely hear and help you.
Conclusion:
We have gone through ten practical solutions for how to keep from falling asleep in church during the sermon period. I hope this article will be of great help to you, and you will no longer sleep in church while the word of God is being taught.
Are there other ways to stay awake during sermons that I have missed out on? You can help me out by dropping them in the comment section.
God’s grace!
