Maybe you are a preacher, a church usher, or just an individual who is anxious to know why people sleep in churches during sermons.
People sleep in church during sermons for various reasons, both controllable and uncontrollable, ranging from the stress of the previous week or day to the long, boring sermon of the preacher.
In this post, I’ll share with you seven reasons why people sleep in churches during sermons. (Related article: Is it bad to fall asleep in church while the sermon is being preached?)
Table of Contents
Reasons Why People Sleep In Church During The Sermon Period
1. The shortcomings of the preacher.
Sincerely, both the person behind the pulpit and the people in the pew are to be blamed for this issue of people sleeping in church, especially during sermons.
These are some things preachers do that might cause you to nod off during the sermon.
- Preaching sermons that are too long: Imagine this, you are in a church, and the preacher mounts the podium, 45 minutes have gone by, he just concluded the introduction of the sermon, and what you hear next is that the sermon is divided into 4 subheadings.
- Preaching of boring sermons: Imagine a sermon that has no illustrations or no stories at all, with the preacher just standing in a place, mentioning many Bible quotations and asking you to jump from one scripture to another. The one you just read has not been expounded upon, and you have already been asked to move to another bible passage.
- Preaching unorganized sermons: When a sermon is not well presented, you’ll find it difficult to follow. It becomes hard to connect where the preacher started and where he ended.
- Preaching scanty sermon: His sermon on that particular Sunday is empty. No insight, no instruction, no revelation knowledge.
- Preaching the same sermon every time: Every Sunday, the preacher preaches the same thing. He only changes the topic of the sermon and preaches the same content.
On a serious note, this ought not to be. A preacher who understands the seriousness and sensitivity of his job ought to do everything within his reach to improve himself, and then hand over other factors that are not within his reach to God.
2. The stress of the previous day or night.
Some people, at times, have a lot to do. They work all day (Saturday) or may need to stay up late at night. This contributes to the reason people sleep in church during sermons.
Some students read for hours at night, even on Saturday nights. As a medical student, I have seen a lot of this. On Sunday (the next morning), they go to church. What do you expect? Sleep!
People who work at night frequently suffer from sleep disorders. This is because most of the time, they don’t sleep when they feel drowsy. Their actions conflict with their biological clocks. So, when they are in church, sleeping becomes likely.
Read also: 20 Obvious Hindrances To Spiritual Growth.
3. Inactivity during the sermon
Some people only make use of their ears during sermons.
If you don’t use your eyes by focusing on the preacher’s lips, gestures, or movements and your hands to jot down things, you are prone to doze off.
4. Lack of interest in spiritual matters
Not everyone comes to church to learn the sweet word of God.
We all have our different reasons for being in church. For example:
- Some are compelled to go to church by their parents.
- Some go to church to think because they believe that the church’s atmosphere inspires them.
- To some, it’s to fulfill all righteousness.
- While some other people go to church because it’s a Sunday and every one of their friends will be going to church.
For whatever reasons, which might look like the ones I have listed, they mainly wait for dismissal. So, while the preacher preaches, to do themselves “good”, they would choose to sleep.
Some other people are actually interested but find it difficult to understand the preacher’s sermon. When such is the case, you might see the person dozing.
5. Churches that are too comfortable.
This is for churches that are well-built. I am not saying that a church building shouldn’t be well-built. But the truth is, when a church is too comfortable, it can possibly induce sleep once the members are seated to listen to the preacher’s sermon.
6. Activities of Demons
This might not be generally accepted, but I strongly believe that it is possible for demons to make someone sleep off while the sermon is ongoing.
Satan is ready to do anything to prevent one from receiving the seed of the word of God. (Matthew 13:19).
7. Certain health conditions and medications
Certain conditions, such as narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, etc., as well as the taking of sedating medications, can cause excessive daytime sleeping.
All these conditions can cause someone to sleep even while the sermon is ongoing.
8. Having so much interest in the things of God
Is this true? Can having much interest in the things of God make one sleep in church during a sermon?
My answer is, “Yes!”
There are people with a thousand and one justifiable reasons to miss a church service, yet they go.
Someone can miss church because he is on a period taking sedative medication, has stressed himself unavoidably the previous day or night, or is too old.
When such a person goes to church, it is obvious that he might doze off during the sermon. But their going shows that they love the Lord and want to be in his sanctuary. They say, “it is better to sleep in a church seat than to sleep in a comfortable bed at home”. Yes, in this scenario, God understands because he knows our frame.
[Related article: 15 Reasons Why You Might Feel Sleepy While Praying]
In conclusion
We have seen, in this post, the various the reasons why people sleep in church during sermons. It comes from both the side of the person on the pulpit and the people on the pew.
Have you ever slept in a church while the sermon was being preached? I hope you have discovered why.
If you find it challenging to stay awake in church during sermons, consider reading this article titled “How to Prevent Sleeping in Church During the Sermon Period: 9 Practical Ways.”
Are there other reasons, or are any of the reasons in this post peculiar to you? Write them in the comment section.
