Seeking God - Why and How to Do it Today

by Kayslee Decker

Tears pricked at my eyelids as the water onscreen suddenly stilled. Heartfelt piano music began to play, and Idina Menzel’s iconic voice sang out as Elsa, seeking the answers of where she came from, galloped across the glass-like water. There was a sense of peace and purpose as she ran through the breathtaking glacier landscape, searching for Alta Hallen’s mysteries. She sang of newfound certainty and a feeling of finally being home as she followed the path set before her. And eventually, her desire was satisfied. She found what she was seeking, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in that theater who felt a little overwhelmed by the beauty and joy of it all.

Like Elsa, we are all on a journey of seeking. As believers, we are called to seek God daily, praying constantly and giving Him all our concerns and cares.

Seeking God requires effort; it is an ongoing process; but eventually, if we are seeking with all our hearts, it will lead to us being satisfied in Him. – Kayslee Decker Click To Tweet

Contents

Bible Verses About Seeking God

The first Bible verse that comes to mind when I think about how to seek God is Jeremiah 29:13, which comes right after the well-known verse 11 of the same chapter.

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB95)

Spoken originally to the nation of Israel while they were in exile, this next verse promises that, even when God feels far away, we can always find Him. This verse is also a fulfillment of the promise given in Deuteronomy 4:29, hundreds of years before:

“But from there [exile and idolatry] you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 4:29 (NASB95)

God already knew that Israel would go astray centuries before it happened, and while He allowed them to experience the consequences, He also promised to bring them back every time.

Another Bible verse about seeking God is found in Psalm 27, verses 4 and 8.

“One thing have I asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD and to meditate in His temple… When You said, ‘seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.'”
Psalm 27:4, 8 (NASB95)

These verses present the idea of seeking the Lord as a two-way conversation. The psalmist, David, proclaims that seeking the Lord and His beauty is the primary focus and request of his life. Much like Elsa, he is following the voice of the LORD, calling Him to meet face to face.

Another verse that shows David’s focus on seeking the Lord is Psalm 5:3.

“In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.”
Psalm 5:3 (NASB95)

David shows, as we should also, that seeking the Lord takes effort. It takes repeated action, seeking Him with both our words and our actions.

Why Should We Seek God?

When we’re waking up earlier than is comfortable and falling asleep while trying to pray, when we know that prayer is important but it feels like God isn’t listening, when we read the Bible as often as we can but don’t feel any different in life, we can begin to wonder: why should we seek God? Here are some reasons to seek God that I have found impactful in my own life, and I know that they will benefit you, too.

Seeking God leads to a deeper love for Him

In her book Women of the Word, Jen Wilkin observes that “acquiring knowledge about the One we love, for the sake of loving Him more deeply, will always be for our transformation.” Memorizing the Bible verses and treasuring them in our hearts, choosing to believe with our minds what we don’t always feel with our hearts, will lead us to a stronger faith and trust in the God we serve.

Seeking God makes us more like Jesus, our Savior

As we are searching the Scriptures, seeking to know more about the Lord and treasuring His Word in our hearts, we naturally become more like Him and less like the world. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you (NASB95).”

One of the primary goals of our life as believers should be to become more like Christ. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit (NASB95).”

Seeking God leads to obedience

As students or disciples of the Lord Jesus, we are called to study Him, to follow Him, and to gaze upon His beauty in the Word and in the work that He does in our lives and in the lives of fellow believers. Looking into the face of our Lord will lead us to become more obedient to the instructions that we find in His Word.

{Related – 35 Bible Verses About Obeying God}

Seeking God leads us to give more and more of our hearts over to Him

I love what the French translation of Psalm 62:8 says! “You, my people, have confidence in Him! Instant after instant, open your heart to Him! God is our refuge (translated from French, Bible du Semeur).”

We are called to open our hearts to the Lord as we seek Him in prayer and worship. Doing so doesn’t tell God something He doesn’t already know, but rather allows us to trust Him with the deepest parts of our hearts. As we search for His will and His heart in our lives, we also invite Him to search our hearts and refine us:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
Psalm 139:23-24 (NASB20)

How to Seek God With Your Whole Heart

Whenever I think of seeking God, I always picture Elsa running through the idyllic frozen land of Alta Hallen, following the voice that calls her into who she’s meant to be. Elsa’s journey took courage, perseverance, and faith, and it led to her discovering her unique identity and purpose. Here are some practical ways to seek the Lord with all your heart:

Read the Bible. One of the best ways to seek and find the Lord is in His Word. Every bit of it is inspired by God, and many passages are the direct words that God said (2 Timothy 3:16-17)! If you’re stuck on where to start, I highly recommend reading the Psalm of the day. Start with today’s date (Psalm 14 on June 14^th, for example), and reflect on what you’ve read. You can turn the words into a prayer of worship and seeking the Lord, and rest assured that your prayer is aligned with His will. You can then move through the entire book by adding 30 to each date (for example, on June 14^th, I would read Psalm 14, 44, 74, 104, and 134). After many months of doing this every day, I’ve found that many of the psalms are imprinted in my brain and on my heart. It’s truly a beautiful thing!
Put on some worship music. I have a playlist of songs that have spoken to me over the years (including “Show Yourself” from Frozen 2) that I like to put on when I’m trying to be still before the Lord. Many of these songs are outside of what we would normally consider Christian, but I have found that they speak to my heart in a fresh and powerful way. Choose songs that speak to both your heart and your mind and ponder what the words mean in light of Scripture and your own life experiences.
Look for Him in every moment. Because God created everything, He can use all kinds of things to speak to us. I remember sitting on a front porch at dawn and coming face to face with a hummingbird! Moments like this can be a precious reminder of God’s presence and an invitation to seek His face daily.
Listen with intent. At the beginning of your day, ask God to make your ears and eyes open to what He might have to show or teach you. Then, as you have conversations and encounters with other people and the world around you, listen to what they have to say. What do these encounters teach you about who God is? Make sure the things you learn align with what the Scripture says!
Don’t give up. Seeking the Lord takes effort, and the answers don’t always come right away. Like David, it’s important for us to make seeking God a habit rather than an occasional activity. Repeatedly coming to Him, in prayer, worship, and the Word, will build up our belief in who He is and our focus on the Giver, rather than the gifts or answers He might have for us. Even when you don’t feel an immediate response, seeking the Lord is never a waste of time! If you’re struggling, follow the instructions of Psalm 46:10, which says, “Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth (NASB20).”

Seeking God Summary

Seeking the Lord is always about the position of our hearts. As He promised the Israelites centuries ago, God is never far from us. Our pursuit of Him takes our hearts from a place of turned-away, sinful rebellion and distance to one of humble praise and expectancy.

We make the beauty of the Lord our primary focus, looking for evidence of His character in the Word, through conversations with other believers, and in the world around us.

We seek Him with both our words and our actions, repeating His words to ourselves until they become ingrained in our minds and hearts.

As we seek the Lord, we are called to open up every part of our hearts to Him and draw near to Him in trust as we surrender our feelings to Him.

So if you’re a believer like me who wants to seek the Lord more, take a cue from Elsa with me. Breathe in deep, quiet your heart before Him, and speak the words I know He longs for us to say to Him:

“Show Yourself to me, Lord. I’m here, and I’m coming.”

Kayslee Decker is a recent college graduate, mom to a very feisty tortoiseshell kitten, and Library Assistant. After years of memorizing Bible verses for church but feeling unsure of how to apply them in real life, she began discovering connections between the Word and her favorite stories and songs and hasn’t looked back since. Her website, The Fangirl Fulfilled, is devoted to exploring and celebrating these connections between sacred and secular, using them to build a deeper faith and a platform to share the Gospel with fangirls, geeks, and Disney adults worldwide.