What Does It Mean to Seek the Lord?
“God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. ”
Since the earliest prophets, men and women have sought God. King David expressed his longing for God's presence in the Psalms. When David's son was deathly ill, he fasted and prostrated himself before the Lord for seven days. During the Babylonian captivity of Israel, Daniel clothed himself in sackcloth and ashes, fasted and prayed to seek the Lord's mercy for his people.
Numerous scriptures tell us to seek the Lord. Psalm 105:4 tells us to “seek His face always.” But what does it mean to seek the Lord, and how do we do it?
What Does it Mean to Seek the Lord?
Seeking the Lord simply means setting our hearts and minds on God. It is consciously focusing our attention and affection on him. To seek the Lord is to seek his presence. But if God is omnipresent, meaning he is present everywhere, what does it mean to look for him? Doesn’t this mean we are always in his presence? After all, Matthew 28:20 tells us, “Behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.” While the answer to this is yes, it isn’t that easy.
While God is always present everywhere, scripture records times he manifested his presence in powerful ways. The Lord appeared to Abraham as a man. God “spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). At the dedication of Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 7), the glory of the Lord filled the temple so that the priests could not enter. The presence of God was so powerful that the Israelites bowed their faces to the ground and worshiped. This is the kind of response we are aiming for when we “seek the Lord”!
Why Should We Seek the Lord?
In the early 1900s a small group of believers began seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On the third day of a ten-day fast, God began pouring out His Spirit. Eventually, thousands received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in what became known as the Azusa Street revival. In 2023 at Asbury University in Kentucky, students attending a routine chapel service experienced a powerful presence of God. They lingered in the chapel, repenting and worshiping. For 16 days God continued to manifest His presence. During that time, Asbury hosted approximately 50,000 people with reports of healings and outpourings of the Holy Spirit.
Today, we can seek the Lord to intercede and ask for mercy for ourselves, our family, or our nation, just like David and Daniel. We can seek the Lord to understand his will for our lives. We can also seek to deepen our relationship with God. And when we set our mind and heart to wholeheartedly seek the Lord no matter the personal cost or inconvenience, God responds. And his response to us is the biggest reason to seek his presence!
How Do We Seek God?
“And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Prepare Your Heart: 2 Chronicles 19:3 instructs us to prepare our heart to seek God. Humble yourself and confess any unaddressed sin. Ask God to examine you and reveal any ungodliness.
Make God a Priority: If we truly want to meet with God, we must prioritize him. We need to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Oswald Chambers once said, “Your priorities must be God first, God second, and God third, until your life is continually face to face with God.”
Search Wholeheartedly: Deuteronomy 4:29 promises that we will find God if we seek him with all our heart and all our soul. Make a conscious choice to keep your mind and heart focused on God. Identify and remove any distractions, especially activities that are spiritually harmful. King David expressed his wholehearted longing for God’s presence in Psalm 63: “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”
Study Scripture: We can learn who God is, as well as his likes, dislikes and expectations, by studying Scripture. And knowing what God expects helps us avoid sin. Most importantly, God can speak to us and guide us through his word.
Talk to God Regularly: Dedicate time every day to converse with God and seek his will. Remember that a conversation is more than talking. It also includes listening. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). God still speaks to his people, but we must quiet our minds and wait patiently.
Holding On To God’s Promises
Imagine how much our relationship with God would grow if we set your heart to seek him. Imagine how much our world would change if we joined together and set our hearts and minds to seek God's mercy and intervention. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect or have perfect faith. He will meet us where we are and promises that, if we seek him diligently and wholeheartedly, we will find him.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. ”