Call on God

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Scripture: Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Devotion:

The scene behind these words is the people of Judah in exile in Babylon. The people were discouraged, uncertain of the future, and tempted to despair. God, through the prophet, lifts the people’s vision from their circumstances to their relationship with Him. Jesus said something similar in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7. God, through the prophet here, with later confirmation by the Son, assures us that no matter our circumstances, He desires relationship with us.

Our decision to call upon God is an act of surrender. If you are like me, you try all sorts of things; then, when I come to the end of myself, I cry out to God, and He hears me. Sometimes, think we only have to call out to God when it’s convenient. Our prayers may become a dead ritual that lacks any reality of the relationship it is meant to have. God assures us that He wants us to call out to Him when we need His help, when we cry with all our hearts.

God hears not just our words but the heart that is behind them. Prayer is not us shouting into the silence but a real conversation with the Creator of the universe. It is a conversation that God started and one He will always respond to. It is a conversation that brings us comfort and peace, regardless of hardship or feelings of loneliness.

When we seek God, we must always do so actively, with intention and a willingness to be fully known by God. God, despite all appearances, is not hiding from us. He will always reveal Himself fully to the heart that is sincerely and ardently searching for Him. The promise both here in Jeremiah and by Jesus in Matthew (and Luke 11:9) is a promise not that you “might” find God but that you “will” find Him.

What does it mean to search for God in this way? It does not mean that we search for God perfectly. God knows us and knows that perfection cannot be reached by human effort. God is not interested in half-hearted or part-time devotion. Truly seeking God aligns our desires with God’s presence.

How can we seek God wholeheartedly? Begin with honest prayer that names your fears, hopes, and desires; God really wants to know what you want. Read Scripture, not to check off some box, but to really listen for God’s voice speaking to us—and confess sin that clears away any divided loyalties we may have. Worship that brings our spirits closer to God. And finally, being in community with like-minded believers can encourage us to keep walking with God.

Prayer:

Help us, dear Jesus, to seek you with our whole heart. May we take seriously your expressed desire to be in a relationship with us. Help us to know that you are not far from each of us, that you are not silent or indifferent, but that you are present, attentive, and present to those who seek you with all their hearts. May we be in that kind of relationship with you today. Amen.

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