Have you noticed how with this smart devices’ generation of readily accessible internet, apps and social media and all that comes with it like scrolling through 10 second and 30 second video clips for hours on end, attention span is at an all time low. However, when it comes to seeking God, we can not seek Him real quick. We must tarry in the presence of the Lord. The Bible teaches us to wait upon the Lord. Waiting, according to the dictionary, literally means to stay in a place, pause an action, or remain inactive in expectation of someone arriving or something happening. This requires time, this requires patience and this requires staying ability. Like any muscle, seeking God or waiting on God must be trained bit by bit with consistency and diligence until it grows. As anyone who has ever committed to a sport or to going to the gym knows that for mastery to happen, for skill to develop, for the desired results to show, one must be disciplined and consistent. Choosing everyday to continue on in the pursuit. That is the same with seeking the Lord.
Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 Amplified Bible
I’m reminded of the time Jesus chose a few of His closest disciples to go to the mountain with Him to pray. They could not do it. They kept dozing off and falling asleep, much to Jesus’s disappointment. This was because praying and seeking God is not something they had been practicing and doing consistently like Jesus had, so it was hard for them to do. Jesus often withdrew to a solitary place to seek God and pray as we see in Luke 5:16. It is something He had trained Himself to do, did consistently and often and so had the muscle built up and could exercise it for hours while others slept off in a few minutes. The good news is that the disciples noticed this desirable attribute in Jesus and asked Him to teach them to pray. And He did. They had a rough start, falling asleep and not being able to keep up with their teacher but with consistency and not giving up, they were finally able to spend extended hours seeking God and in prayer. We see this in Acts 2:42.
But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses. Acts 1:8
Another very vital piece of them being able to seek God and pray was the Holy Spirit. After the disciples had the Holy Spirit come upon them at Pentecost, were empowered to do what Jesus did. We need the Holy Spirit. And praise God that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit who indwells everyone that accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit empowers us to seek God with all our hearts and find Him. Not half heartedly, but with all of our hearts.
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. Ephesians 1:13-14.
God desires intimacy with us. When we seek God, we seek Him for Him, not just for His answers or blessings. He is our exceedingly great reward.
Here are three ways we can seek God:
1. We seek God through His Word, giving God’s Word first place in our lives and referring to it as the final authority.
This does not mean we give up on other pursuits like work, sports, ministry or family but it means that God comes first. He is priority.
Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness , and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:36.
I’ve heard people say God never speaks to them. The answer to that is: open up your Bible and read it. The Bible is God speaking, so find the time to read it and hear God talking to you.
My child, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to My words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22.
The Israelites used to write God’s Word everywhere so it was ever before their eyes and so they could give attention to it. So go ahead and post Bible verses everywhere, on the fridge, in the living room, by your nightstand.
2. We seek God through prayer.
Give yourself to prayer. Following the first step above, when we have the regular storage of God’s Word in our heart, as we start to pray, the Holy Spirit brings to mind the appropriate scriptures for whatever situation we are praying. To quote my Pastor PS “A Christian who is not praying is playing. A people that are not praying are straying”
He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:13.
Jesus was talking about the physical temple in this verse, but now, we are called the temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:17 so we are called to be a house of prayer, as the temple of the living God. Because if we leave the temple without prayer, other things will come in like they did in Jesus’s time.
Consistent prayer is one of the core disciplines that builds up a Christian.
3. We seek God through fasting.
Fasting is not very popular I know, but Jesus did it and so should we.
And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” Mark 9:28-29.
We do not fast in order to change God, because fasting does not change God, but changes us. We fast to bring our flesh into subjection; to silence the demands of the flesh so we can hear more clearly what the Spirit of God is saying on the inside of us. Fasting is about silencing the carnal nature and edifying our spiritual nature.
Fasing is not a cultural thing. Fasting is a Biblical thing. Jesus said WHEN you fast, not if you fast. To train yourself in fasting, take baby steps. Fast till noon one day, then till 2pm and then 6pm and so on. We fast so we can spend more time with God in prayer and His Word. Our physical body is denied but the spirit is feasting on things that edify like God’s Word and prayer.
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27
Like Paul, our flesh should not dictate the course of our lives. Instead, we are led by the spirit, not the flesh.
Matthew 6:16-18 Moreover, WHEN you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But WHEN you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jesus teaches us that fasting should not make us irresponsible Christians who are slacking at our work or school or other responsibilities because it should not be obvious that we are fasting. Instead, fasting makes us spiritual giants, empowered to do all God calls us to do. We pray better when we fast and we understand God’s word better because our flesh is under and our spiritual antennas are in tune and more receptive to hear from God.
Making room for Jesus as our priority has eternal benefits. We cannot seek God real quick. But when we seek Him with all our heart, we will surely find Him.
“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5.
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