Welcome to Day 23. for one of our short powerful devotions from the 31 Bible Verses About Practicing The Presence Of God. This short devotional is based on Deuteronomy 4:29.
Read Deuteronomy 4:29.
"But from there 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."
What does it mean to seek God with all your heart?
What does it mean to seek God with all your heart and with all your soul?
To answer this question let's do a short Bible study on the background of Deuteronomy 4:29.
Moses is speaking to the Israelites and they are about to enter the promised land. They are the second generation of Israelites that had escaped from Egypt. The first generation of Israelites (the parents) was now gone. About 40 years previously the Israelites were about to cross over to the 'Promised Land' but they saw that giants lived in the land and they were afraid.
God had told them that He had prepared this land for them and that He would give them success but they were disobedient and refused to go. So God caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation had died.
Now it is time for this second generation of Israelites to move into the 'Promised Land'. They had a heart for God. Moses gave them an outline of Israel's history, he told them about all the miraculous things that God had done. Moses also told them that they were to keep God's commandments and laws. God had written them on stone tablets and they were kept in the Ark Of The Covenant. The children of Israel were told not to forget these laws and to teach their children and future generations.
God promised, if they search for Him with their whole hearts, they will find Him
If the Israelites kept God's commandments and continued to worship only Him, all would go well for them. But if they forged idols and turned away from God then they wouldn’t live in the land for very long and would be scattered. But here is the most wonderful promise of Deuteronomy 4:29, Even though they may have been scattered and without a country to call home, God promised that if they searched for Him with all their heart, soul, and mind, they would find Him.
Now we all know that the Israelites were disobedient and they were scattered all over the world and they went through many battles for centuries. I find it exciting and very interesting that God kept His promise and we are the generation that sees that Israel has once again become an established nation. It is a volatile land and the Bible tells us that it will be so.
How can we seek God with all our heart?
But what can we learn from Deuteronomy 4:29?
How can we apply it to our lives?
Join me below for a short devotional and we will discuss how to seek God with your whole heart. And make sure to join me in prayer at the bottom of the post.
Seek God With All Your Heart
Do you seek God with all your heart?
Spoiler alert!: I think that you do or you would not be interested in reading this devotional!
But maybe you need to step back for a minute and take your spiritual temperature.
You probably have already made the decision to confess Jesus as your savior but have you surrendered every part of your life to Him?
Do you yearn to spend more time in God's presence?
If your answer is negative, don't despair. The promise found in Deuteronomy 4:29 wasn't just for the Israeli people. It is for you and me as well. God yearns for you to passionately seek Him. He longs to be involved in your decision-making and guide you along the path of life that He has planned for you.
How to seek God with all your heart
Seeking the Lord with all your heart will definitely raise your spiritual temperature!
Only God can set that passion within your heart to desire to seek Him with your heart, mind, and soul.
Here are some tips on seeking God with all your heart:
1. Approach God with reverential fear. Do you know God as Yahweh Tsidqenu-The Lord Our Righteousness ? You are so loved and cherished that God covers you in His righteousness through the blood of Jesus. You might also enjoy reading about exactly who Yahweh is to you HERE
2. Cultivate a humble and repentant heart.
Read Psalm 51:10.
We looked at this verse a few days ago HERE. The first step in preparing your heart for God to cleanse is acknowledging that Jesus died on the cross, rose again, and that His blood covers your sin. You need to spend time with your risen savior. It doesn't matter if you have just become a Christian (surrendered your life to God) or if you have been walking with Jesus for a very long time, we all need to be practicing the presence of God continually. That is our armor!
3. Draw near to God and lean on His grace. There is a wonderful promise in James 4:8-10 that if we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. It is very much like the Old Testament promise that we find in Deuteronomy 4:29, except it points out the grace that we are given and entitled to once we know God intimately through Jesus our savior. To draw near to God is to simply open your heart to Him. God never withholds His presence from us but He never forces us to abide in Him. God is a gentleman, He waits for us patiently to come to Him, and then He rewards us with His peace and envelopes us in His love. You don't have to be perfect, you just have to accept God's grace and wash your hands, purify your heart and repent of sin.
I hope you enjoyed reading my few of my tips on how to seek God with all your heart. Now take action!
To help you go deeper into what God is saying to you through our bible verse today, download our free guided prayer journal to help you sit still and seek God's presence. You will find it in our Resource Library.
Today's devotional, Seek God with all your heart is based on Deuteronomy 4:29 which is from our Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures Plan. You will find a free printable PDF of 31 scriptures about God's presence in the Resource Library. It has a bible reading plan, guided prayer journal. Download this free printable or grab a notebook and answer the following questions.
What is God saying to you through this verse?
What burdens do you need to surrender to God and trust Him with?
Write out your prayer request.
What are you grateful for today? Count your blessings!
Write out the scripture verse, it helps you to memorize the scripture and store up God's truth in your heart.
Then in the last section of the prayer journal, there is space to record what God is speaking to you through our bible verse today, Deuteronomy 4:29.
Seek God With All Your Heart Scripture Prayer
We are called to pray without ceasing. That means we can talk with God at any time and in any place. This is a great way to practice the presence of God. Praying scripture is a powerful way to pray so join me in praying Deuteronomy 4:29.
Father thank you for loving me and yearning for me to spend time in Your presence. Forgive me for the times I let other things get in the way of me passionately seeking You. Help me to passionately seek You with all my heart, mind, and soul. Amen.
Related Resources:
You will find Practicing The Presence Of God: 31 Presence Of God Scriptures HERE. It will have the list of 31 Bible verses that we are using for 31 days that our short powerful daily devotionals are based on.
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xx Karen.