Seek the Lord

How does one go about seeking the Lord? Is it by praying, is it through worship or through reading the bible? Is it simply by acknowledging Him? Can we honestly say that we are "seeking" the Lord when we are praying for healing or for a financial blessing? Is this "seeking?" or is this simply "asking" for  favor? There are many passages of scripture that deal with seeking the Lord. After warning the children of Israel that they would be scattered to other nations and end up as slaves to those nations if they disobeyed God's Laws, Deuteronomy 4:29 says:

But from there, ("there," meaning a foreign nation) you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

The above instance implies that by "seeking" God, freedom and deliverance would follow.

Psalms 105:3-4 says, "Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face evermore."

The above passage in Psalms hints that the rejoicing comes through the seeking. It's not so much the answered prayer or the manifestation of favor or healing, but the seeking of the Lord is the goal that brings rejoicing in and of itself.

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near." This verse gives a sense of urgency. Don't waste too much time wondering if you should seek Him. Start seeking Him now. The phrase "while he is near" seems to indicate that there will be a time when it's too late.

Jeremiah 29:13 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
We know that God Himself can't lie. so the above passage is basically a guarantee that if we search for Him with all our hearts, we will find Him!

Lamentations 3:25 "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him."
People who seek God and are willing to patiently wait for Him will receive good things from Him.

Matthew 6:33 and Luke 12:31 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." In the passage leading up to this verse recorded in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus is talking to them about tangible things: food, clothing, shelter. So we know that "all these things" are material provisions from God the Father. We are instructed to seek the things of the kingdom and God's righteousness (not our righteousness) and our material needs will be met. Jesus said "shall," this is not a "maybe."

Matthew 7:7-8 and Luke 11:9-10 "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

My pastor preached from the above scriptures on Fathers' Day, June 17, 2012. His message was titled,
"Having the Right Combination." The combination is Ask, Seek, Knock, or ASK. In his message, the pastor pointed out that we are to seek God for who he is, not just for giving us things. To sum up his Fathers' Day message, the pastor pointed out that we buy gifts for our fathers that have a price tag. While we say "price tags," our savior says, "I paid it all!"

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The above scripture in Hebrews tells us that before we can begin to seek, we must first believe. The phrase, "He is a rewarder" tells us that our spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, financial needs "shall" be met by our Heavenly Father. Not only will receive these "rewards" for seeking Him, but we get to rejoice in seeking Him.