Are we seeking God in our lives? Can we say with confidence that we are truly seeking God in in everything we do?
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.Proverbs 3:6
Knowing whether we are searching for God each day is an important question, in fact, it is the single most important question of our lives. After all, seeking God is the central purpose of our earthly existence, it is the reason we were given the gift of life. Our earthly lives are given to allow us to find God and to become as much like Him as we can.
Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near…Isaiah 55:6
This verse raises a critical question, maybe a question we have struggled with ourselves:
What happens to those individuals who have never sought God in their lives, those who were not raised in an atmosphere of faith?
In response to this concern, we might turn to the wisdom of C.S. Lewis. Lewis, one of the best-known Christian writers of the 20th Century. Lewis was famous for his ability to craft clear, concise and powerful statements on faith. Here is a version of one of his succinct quips on the finding God, it provides great insight on the importance of our seeking God.
“God reveals Himself with enough evidence for those who desire to find Him, and at the same time, He masks Himself in just enough obscurity for those who have no desire to seek Him.”
An interesting proposition, and for some, C.S. Lewis’ words offer a challenge to how we spend our time in this life.
Even for those who are praying regularly and genuinely seeking God in their lives, there is a more challenging question. This question goes to the very heart of our motivation in prayer.
Just who are we seeking in prayer?
As our prayer deepens, and as our desire for seeing God in our lives increases, we must be prepared to accept that there will be periods of dryness or even a sense of God’s absence. There will be times when we may not experience answers or consolations in our prayers. In these dry seasons, we will come to understand who we are really seeking in prayer.
Guidance and Consolation are reasonable expectations for those who pray, it is what we often experience, especially when dealing with difficult issues in our lives. However, as we mature in our prayer life, we need to begin to forgo our expectations of experiencing consolation.
Instead, we should become increasingly concerned about what God is trying to do with us in prayer, how His Will is being fulfilled in us, even in the midst of dryness.
It is in our very efforts to pray, especially when it is difficult, that we can more perfectly fulfill God’s Will for our lives, by allowing Him to work in us and purify us of our limited expectations.
Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
It takes a great deal of effort on our part to continue to go back to prayer when we are not experiencing what we may have in the past, when there is no clear guidance or consolation. However, as with any healthy, maturing and loving relationship, there will be times when our prayers must be motivated by nothing other than our desire to please God.
In these times, we seek Him only to express our appreciation for what He has already done in our lives, and for His gift of eternal life. Our desire is to let Him know we do not seek Him only for His consolation, but we desire to find Him solely out of love.
This is the process of growing in our prayer and in our transformation in love. It is what allows us to become fully formed Human Persons, those who like God, do everything out of love.
Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Corinthians 16:14
Let us pray this week that we might all find the Grace to seek God out of pure love.
God Bless
Copyright © Deacon Mark Danis
Image credit: Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash
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