7 Ways to Relentlessly Seek God
When we relentlessly seek God, it radically transforms us. And the enemy knows it. So he uses the world’s distractions to keep us from God.
It boils down to a constant spiritual struggle.
Like how living in this world clashes with not being of this world. Or, the ongoing battle between our flesh and spirit. Also, the conflict between our old self and our new self in Christ.
These struggles put us at risk of distractions that pull us away from seeking God. Instead, we look to our own desires and what the world has to offer.
But it’s nothing new.
Throughout the history of the world, the history of God’s people, and the history of the Bible, the choice always stood in place. Either seeking after God or seeking something else.
And “something else” includes everything from people and things to idols and self-worship to fame and fortune.
Look at Romans 3:10-11, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
Still, Acts 17 reminds us how God made the world and everything in it. Futhermore, He made all mankind to live on the earth. Why?
“That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring’” (Verses 27-28).
So how does the Bible describe seeking God?
(1.) Seek God for who He is.
“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God” Psalm 14:2.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” Hebrews 11:6.
Relentlessly seeking God radically transforms us. And the enemy knows it. So he uses the world's distractions to keep us from God. #SeekHim Click To Tweet(2.) Seek God’s kingdom and righteousness.
Jesus said not to be anxious about food or clothes… “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” Matthew 6:33.
(3.) Seek God’s counsel.
Instead of first relying on our own wisdom or the opinions of others, we ask the Lord.
Like when the king of Israel wanted to go into battle, the king of Judah advised, “But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, ‘First seek the counsel of the Lord’” 1 Kings 22:5 NIV.
(4.) Seek God with a whole heart.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13.
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10.
(5.) Seek God’s presence.
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” Psalm 27:4.
(6.) Seek God’s face in prayer.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” 2 Chronicles 7:14.
(7.) Seek God earnestly.
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” Psalm 63:1.
A Prayer of Seeking
Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. Help my soul thirst for seeking You and not fall for what the world offers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. In Jesus’ name, Amen. #SeekHim Click To TweetWhat ways would you like to work on in seeking the Lord? What would you add?
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Good morning, Karen,
Your words and Scriptural encouragement come at just the right time. I have been meditating on pushing the limits. “Relentlessly following Jesus”. My sense is the more we abandon logic, the more wild our faith becomes. Have a blessed day, sister.
Hey Julie, I love your sentiments of abandoning logic and living with wild faith. I pray to seek God more than anything else. Because it all pales in comparison to Him! God bless, friend.
Such a beautiful prayer. I am printing it to use as part of my daily prayer time. Thanks for the reminder too, I feel so many distractions pulling me away from God’s calling lately. Thanks for helping me refocus.
Thank you, Yvonne. It’s a prayer I need as a daily reminder. Seeking God is intentional…it’s a choice that formes a way of life.
Seeking Him in my every thought and movement. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
Awesome, Melissa! “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” Psalm 63:1.
Oh, yes, Karen, we must seek God with our whole hearts, in submission to His will, so that we will stay the course He has mapped out for us. Thanks, my friend, for this inspiration today!
Blessings!
Martha, I so want to stay the course and submit to His ways and plans. Lord, help me in seeking Your kingdom and righteousness above the things of this world. Create in me a whole heart seeking Your presence and face over the idols of this world. Help my soul thirst for seeking You and not fall for what the world offers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Karen, I needed this today! I love how just bringing my full attention back to the only important thing—God—is what it takes to center my soul and overpower distractions. Thank you so much. I love your writing.
Hey Jessica, thank you for your kindness. I agree, centering our soul on God overpowers the distractions. “With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” Psalm 119:10.
Love this Karen, my favorite is #1 seeking God for who He is. The more I know and understand the character of God the greater He is, and the more amazing His grace becomes. Many Thanks 8)
Thanks, Debra. Yes, knowing the Lord more and more certainly helps us refocus on what’s important…Him! Thank you for joining the conversation!
So much great truths here in seeking God!! I feel that I had to first seek God intentionally. Many times we first have to start with forming the habit to intentionally seek Him. It then becomes more than habit, then we learn more of what it means to seek Him with a relentless spirit, with the earnest conviction, with the deep need of His counsel. I still fall short at times. I still have to go back to making sure I’m being intentional. You are so right that distractions are used to pull us away!
It is an intentional choice, April. And we all fall short because of living in this world, the struggle between flesh and spirit and how the enemy uses the struggle to his advantage. And what’s great about our God is how He helps us with the struggle when we ask Him and we set our hearts on pursuing Him fully and over anything else.
Amen-Amein Sweet Sister in Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua Karen!!
Ask Seek Knock ~> ( https://kristiann1.com/2016/05/27/ask/ ) With Christian video!!
“Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keeps You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only GOD keeps You Going.”!! Amen-Amein Praise Christ-Messiah Jesus-Yeshua Hallelujah!!
Our ONE True GOD’S LOVE 💕 is ETERNAL THROUGH HIS SON Christ-MESSIAH Jesus-Yeshua for Today and Everyday Forevermore Everyone!!
I Love you all Everyone through Jesus-Yeshua Christ, because HE LOVED EVERYONE FIRST!! 💕 Praise Jesus-Yeshua Christ-Messiah for Today and Everyday!!
Love 💕 Always and Shalom, YSIC \o/
Kristi
Thank you for sharing the quote, Kristi Ann. Blessings! “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” Hebrews 11:6.
I love your list, Karen. We do need to seek God. #4 especially seeks to me. We do need to seek him with our whole heart, with all the strength, energy, and faith we can muster. We need to be all in. It’s a daunting task, but we’re not in it alone!
“We need to be all in.” Yes, Laurie! Wholehearted surrender and seeking is what it takes to keep our focus on the Lord and not the distractions that come our way.“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13.
Karen, I’m seeking His wise counsel today as my family grapples with hard reality. Thank you for your encouraging words.
Peace and Grace,
Tammy
Tammy, I just prayed for God’s wise counsel in the midst of your family hardship. I hope you feel encouraged that He has the best insight and wisdom. And after you seek God’s counsel first, He will lead you to others wise in what your dealing with.
Seek relentlessly!
Such a great post!
Thanks, Ava. I pray we seek as Acts 17 suggests: “That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring’” (Verses 27-28).
The distractions are constant. I’m so glad that God’s Holy Spirit keeps drawing us to Himself. But will we listen? You’re so right; it is a constant struggle. Thank you for all you shared. It’s a great reminder to keep vigilant in our spiritual and earthly walk. The devil is seeking whom he may destroy. I am so thankful for our God who doesn’t easily let go of us, but holds tightly and keeps drawing us to Himself. My soul longs for Him and Him alone.
Good word, Anneliese! Thank your for sharing! I, too, desire to stay vigilant in my spiritual walk. Since the devil has a plan of action against us, we must up our game and have our own plan to stay near to God and seek Him with all our heart. “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” Psalm 27:4.
Amen! Powerful Truths from the God of all. Thank you for affirming the ways God desires we seek Him…for giving me Scripture from which to climb. I am glad to have come by here today.
Thanks so much, Linda. I appreciate you stopping by and leaving your thoughts. I pray we are not distracted by the things that pull us away from seeking God before anything else. That we lay down our own desires to seek Him and His desires for us.
Karen, I absolutely love this! I have a similar scripture prayer that I use as part of my daily prayers. I will definitely be including these additional heart cries to pursue the Lord Jesus with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Every word you wrote is packed with God’s power and truth. It is true, the enemy knows the power of the Holy Spirit that is unleashed as we seek God in our lives more and more. So, we must expect a push back, take up our spiritual armor and press in. May the Lord bless and keep you. Your ministry is powerful! Keep writing! Keep shining the light of Christ! His light is bright in you and it is a joyful sight to see!
Agree, Melissa, Amen! Through the power of the Holy Spirit and truth, our spiritual armor and prayer, we can fight off the enenmy’s tactics to lead us away from seeking God’s holy face and basking in the light of His presence. Lord, help us daily make our way to You and seek You. Then we will live and move and have our being in You! (Acts 17.) I appreciate your ministry online as well, my sister.
I love how the focus of these is to seek God simply because of who He is, not because we want or need something from Him. So often we seek Him with an agenda! Thanks for this reminder!
Emily, that’s a good point how often we seek the Lord with our own agenda. I pray we learn to seek God for Him alone…not His stuff or even His promises, just Him, because we so want to grow close to Him in all His glory.
Thank you for this, Karen. I need to seek Him in prayer more. I pray throughout the day, but I don’t have enough prayer-only times.
Hi Stephen, we could all use more seeking prayer in our days. May the Spirit prompt us of our need to seek God’s face, for our soul to thirst for God himself, and for our lives to be centered in a prayer of seeking the Almighty.
And I write this day how God “relentlessly” seeks us even when we are disobedient, wander away. Thank you for encouraging my heart on the ways I can and want to see God.
Yes, yes, yes, Linda. Not only do we relentessly seek God, He relentlessly pursues us and our heart with His love and grace.
Great post! Shared on twitter – we need more people studying the Word and gleaning it’s wisdom. 💖
Thanks for commenting and tweeting, April. I pray His Word changes us and helps us seek Him.
Inspiring words that remind us to look always to God rather than relying on our own resources, Karen! I love how you anchor your thoughts and principles here in Scripture. There’s no better way to get your message across! Hugs and prayers coming your way!
Thanks so much, Beth. I’ve learned Scripture is the best way to not only anchor me in truth, but to also get a message across to others. May we trust in the Lord’s Word fully and fully seek Him with all!
This is a beautiful prayer and a great reminder that we should be seeking God in everything. I think seeking him for wisdom for particular circumstances is something I do a lot, but I could be better at seeking his presence and seeking him for who he is.
Lesley, that’s great you seek the Lord’s wisdom and counsel. Sometimes even believers fail to ask the Lord for direction first. I want to work on seeking His presence more often as well. To really enjoy and long for the presence of the Lord. Thanks commenting.
Claiming number five – and clinging to it for the week ahead! Thanks for sharing all the verses as well!
I claim that one for you and me also, Jennifer. “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” Psalm 27:4.
What a wonderful thought, to be relentlessly seeking God! Just as he relentlessly loves us! #GraceFullTuesday
I know, Bella. When we think about God’s relentless love for us, it should prompt our desire to seek Him with that level of passion.
Love number 1 especially. I’ve found that as I learn who God is and the great love he has for us, the more I want to seek Him. Great post, Karen!
Ashley, I like how you said the more you learn who God is, the more you want to seek Him. So true! I pray that is more and more evident in my life! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Karen, I love it that He invites us to seek Him. He calls us by name. Thanks for these beautiful Scriptures.
He does invite us to seek Him, Debbie. If it wasn’t important, He wouldn’t have included it in His love letter to us. May we accept the invitation!
Yes, the enemy of our souls prowls around. But greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Thank you for the wide variety of weapons at our disposal, Karen. We are well protected as we trust in Him …
Linda, I’ve come to loathe the enemy…so much! We know how cunning he is and his craftiness as he works against us. But, yes, greater is the Lord in us! Lord, we seek You with everything we have and rebuke the enemy to distract us from our God.
(5.) Seek God’s presence. This one stands out the most to me. If I can be more mindful of his presence, all is better.
Appreciate you visiting and commenting, Lisa. That one resonated with a lot of people. And Me too! I’m glad God’s presence isn’t a mystery or hard to break into. It’s only a choice away as we decide to be intentional to enter His presence and dwell there.
I need to work on #3–seeking God’s counsel before stepping out in any ministry or activity. He alone knows how and where I can best spend my time and energy, be most productive, and bear fruit for His kingdom!
“He alone knows how and where I can best spend my time and energy….” Great thoughts, Jennifer. If only we would remember that before we first seek the world’s counsel, wisdom from other people, or even our own opinions and knowledge. Or, even google something and everything looking for answers. 🙂
These verses on seeking avid are so spot on. You are right when you say that satan tries to distract us from seeking God, but if we stay faithful, He always keeps us moving in the right direction.
The distraction is part of our spiritual warfare we will always have to deal with when it comes to the enemy. But we’re on to him and know seeking the Lord is the antidote.
Thanks for this post, Karen. God longs for us to seek His face every day. It helps us to know Him better.
I’ve chosen your post as my Grace & Truth feature this week. Please stop by tomorrow to get the “I Was Featured” button so your readers can celebrate with you.
Thanks so much, Aimee. I grabbed the button and it’s now displayed on the blog post. May we seek the Lord’s face always!