But seek ye first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well
Matthew 6: 33
This verse really changed my relationship with God in 2019. I remember I came across it just before taking some time to pray and it was such an eye opener. I am sure most of us if not all of us have come across this verse, but how many of us actually live it out? I think this is the verse that builds the foundation of our relationship with God, defines His place in our life, and shows us what we need to do and how.
When I was looking up the word seek I came across an article by John Piper, and he said that to seek “is a conscious effort on our part”. He went further to explain that it is “to constantly set our minds toward God in all our experiences, to direct our minds and hearts toward him through the means of his revelation”. It takes effort, intentionality, sacrifice, obedience, time, love, understanding – we must be deliberate about it. Does it come easily? Nope! Is it always automatic? Nope! But that is where faith in Him comes in, obedience to His word and His promises take place. It is through these efforts that we continue to intentionally prioritize God in our lives!
Someone once asked me to pray for them, and I remember asking them if they had prayed for themselves first? Fact is I don’t know why I asked them that – my usual response is usually “what about” and then I note it down and pray (either at that point or later during my quiet time). When I asked if they had prayed we ended up having such a rich discussion – they expressed how they had not prioritized their relationship with God, and they felt that their relationship was pegged on what they wanted or needed at a specific time. And so I asked them what they would have felt if they were on the other side of the relationship, the one who only heard the other’s voice when they needed or wanted something? When we finished our discussion, they asked if they could pray and of course I agreed with a smile!
The purpose of seeking God is actually going after Him, to my understanding this does not mean not telling Him what we want and need, but the primary thing is seeking Him first– spend time in His word, talk to Him, talk about Him. Let your heart be in the right place. He gives us all these other things – not through or by our own doing – it is through His!
This week let us re-evaluate the place of God in our lives, and let us seek Him with our whole heart and let our lives be a testimony of our relationship with God!
Dear God,
Teach us how to seek you in truth and in spirit. May we seek you in a way that is pleasing to you!
Amen
