Denise was asked: Why do Christians fall asleep in church?
Denise’s answered:
There are probably a lot of different reasons why Christians fall asleep in church. To be honest, I myself have fallen asleep more than once while my husband was preaching! But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to hear what he was saying — it was because I was exhausted and my physical body just fell asleep. I realize it can be embarassing to fall asleep during a sermon and I have done just about everything to try and stay awake — even pinching myself on the leg! But it’s not a sin to fall asleep in church.
Some people fall asleep because of the tempterature in the room. For example, I fell asleep in our auditorium in Riga because we didn’t have any heat. We were all wrapped up in coats, hats, gloves, and scarves — we were really bundled up! My body was so warm, but I was breathing in the cold air around me. It was just like what happens when a mother takes her baby outside all bundled up. The baby’s body is warm, but once it starts breathing in the cold air, it falls asleep — and that’s exactly what happened to me in church that day. Although, I only fell asleep for a moment!
As I said before, some people fall asleep because they are simply exhausted. They might be physically worn down in their bodies, and it isn’t fair for us to judge them. Have you ever worked so hard that you didn’t get a moment to sit down, and as soon as you sat down in that chair and felt the peace of God around you, you fell asleep? You see, we can’t judge others, because we need to give mercy to one another. There are people who work hard all week long and young mothers who stay up all night, and the only time that they have had to themselves is when they are sitting there in that chair. So if you notice someone fall asleep in church, don’t judge them — bless them! And just keep listening to the message.