,
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,
and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me
when you seek with your whole heart.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)
We are all probably familiar with the verse preceding this
passage. How do these verses connect with that thought about God’s plans for
His people?
“Then you will call
upon me . . .” As a result of God’s plan for us, we will approach Him for
guidance, comfort, and healing. We can go to God from any location, under any
condition, and at any time.
“. . . pray to me. .
.” We will ask Him to care for our needs, both personal and corporate, and
to remove the blot of our sin from our hearts. We have to ask in order to show
God we are aware of our needs and our sins.,
“ . . . I will listen
to you.” God promises to concentrate on our words. When I was in college,
one of the classes I heard that there were five different levels of listening.
One article I found mentioned some of us listen and wait for our chance to
talk. (Level One) At the other end of the spectrum is where we intuitively
listen to hear the emotion and real issue behind the words.1
“You will seek me and
find me . . .”Our search for God will end with success. We will not come
away from our quest empty-handed. When we lose something, we look everywhere
for it—car keys, a special piece of jewelry, something we stored away for a
season. When we find it we feel relieved.
“. . . when you seek
with your whole heart.” One of the conditions of finding God is very
simple. We have to focus our minds and hearts on Him. I have been in worship
services where the preacher has asked us to clear our minds of Sunday dinner
and our plans for the afternoon. I have just understood that this is a Biblical
idea.
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Graphic: corrycecillia.wordpress.com
1.
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Five-Levels-of-Listening&id=5115474
This is a precious passage. What a Father He is, and He proved these very truths just this morning. Him, me, the birds and my coffee. :D
ReplyDeleteWaving and grinning,
Rhonda
Rhonda: God loves us and wants us to worship Him for Who He Is.
DeleteThen we can approach Him with our wants and needs. We have to be certain we are FULLY committed to Him. Praying for you.
Hi Cecelia! This really speaks to me because I have been a little stressed lately. I know I need to come to the Lord with my whole heart so he can bless me. I need to pray to him!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a good word for me today!
Ceil
Ceil: When we have stress, He is the one to take it to. I had a stressful time the end of last week. I finally said something to a friend on Friday night after our revival meeting. She got back with me on Saturday evening with an answer. It was a big misunderstanding,partly my fault.I had prayed and prayed. The enemy had pried his way into my thoughts. But,in the end, God won.
DeleteI was just thinking about this scripture the other day! I wanted to go over it and meditate on it this week, but it slipped my mind. I am glad you shared this and reminded me, thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteKaren: You are most welcome. We have times when a hymn, or a praise song,comes to mind. When it happens to me, I feel blessed. I pray you have a great week.
DeleteSuch a comfort to know that He listens when we seek and want to talk with Him with an honest heart!
ReplyDeleteMarja: Thank you for your warm comment. I had that experience just last night. I am referring to it in my next month's blogs.
DeleteGod is good.
I love this line: "our search for God will end with success." I needed to hear that one today, dear friend. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJeanette:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your warm comment. We have times when we need to be reminded about our search for God. We also need to be reminded that He loves us and sent His son, Jesus, to shed His blood for our sins.