Let’s see a few things that the Word of God has to say about “seeking God”:
Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.
1 Chronicles 16:11 NLT
“Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.” (1 Chronicles 22:19)
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1–2)
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
“If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy . . . ” (Job 8:5)
“In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him” (Psalm 10:4)
“If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
“Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6)
But how do we go about this practically?
How do we “apply” this effectively?
First of all, I would emphasize that “seeking God” is a position of the heart and a conscious yearning — not just a religious activity.
For example, being diligent to do a morning devotional, or having a prayer time, or singing praise, etc. can by itself be empty, dead, fruitless “religious activity” if we are not coming to that humble and contrite place where we know our need for God and are truly seeking Him.
And there are times when we might be in such a desperate place that we would foolishly “demand an audience with the Lord” like Job did, or cry out “where are you” and throw rocks at the sky asking Him to reveal Himself — but experience and history tells me that these types of “seeking God”, while they serve their purpose, may prove to us more than we are truly prepared to handle.
And I’m not talking about working ourselves up into an emotional experience or a trance like state so that we might fabricate a false spiritual “feeling” of connection to “something greater” or “something closer”– because there are many familiar spirits that people spend time with in these activities that are not the one, true Holy Spirit. Those people need to test every spirit by the Word of God and if it ever does not line up with the written Word of God, if the “prophecy” does not come true even once, they need to repent and call for the Lord of Hosts to rebuke that evil spirit and free them from its deceiving ways.
No, I’m talking about getting still and quiet with the Lord. Finding your own “wilderness” away from the constant drone of the noise and distraction of the world around us. If we get physically still and quiet, like Mary at the feet of Jesus instead of Martha busy and anxious, there is more of an opportunity for our mind, our desires, and our spirit to come to that place of truly seeking the presence, the face, the intimate and personal relationship with God that is “being a child of God”.
This process of seeking the Lord intimately might require we lay down other influences that we enjoy, but that distract us from our purpose and calling.
This process will require us to turn away from the enticements of the world and the desires of our flesh, but if we see that as burdensome and hard to do, them it must also be apparent to us that our true love for the Lord has either waned or may have never truly been awakened in the first place.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
Matthew 13:44-46 NLT
Lord, renew in us a hunger for your presence and intimate involvement in our lives, day to day, moment by moment, breath by breath — awaken us to that truly abundant life in you. Amen.
Related article:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-does-it-mean-to-seek-the-lord
Harold J. Ballinger 