There is something so beautiful about this. God has made Himself findable. But it requires a heart that is willing to seek Him. Nothing more, nothing less. We don’t need to have a Doctorate in theology to understand Him. We need not travel to the Holy Lands to hear from our God. There are no special incantations or rituals that are needed to establish the link between us and our God. And we don’t need the help of a holy man or priest. God simply invites His people to seek Him and promises that we will find Him.  

Our hearts were created to long for Him. We were created to hear from Him. He intentionally built us to not only be able to hear from Him but to need to hear from Him. It is this beautiful connection that He has made between Himself and His precious creation. But we complicate it. We let all kinds of things get in the way and distract us. We let other things become priorities and other voices become louder in our ears than His. And soon we aren’t sure how to hear from our Creator anymore. But in reality, we never fully lose the ability to hear from Him. We never lose the connection. If we are willing and seek Him with all our heart, He promises to allow us to find Him.  

I remember a time in my life when I had been walking away from God for far too long. There is a long story behind it, but for the purpose of today’s devo, let me just say that I had let the things of this world and the voice of others become so loud in my ears that I didn’t hear God speaking any more. I still believed, but I was not walking in my faith. God felt so far away and I had no idea how to get back to Him. 

Until finally one day I hit rock bottom. I was alone, scared, and hurt. All the things that had gotten in the way, all the things that had distracted me from Him, all came crashing down around me. And in a last-ditch effort, I remember crying out to God, “I don’t know if You’re even listening, but God, I need You. I don’t even know who I am anymore.” And for the first time ever, I heard the voice of God almost audibly. It resounded inside my soul so loud that I felt as if He had spoken into a loudspeaker right next to me. He told me, “I know who you are.”  

That’s it. That simple. And those words have been stamped on my heart ever since. My broken and rebellious heart had turned to Him and even in desperation I had reached out. And He met me in that moment. That day was a turning point for me. I figured if He knew who I was, I had better find out who He was if I ever had a chance of knowing who I really was. And so, I started seeking Him. My heart was parched and famished, and He was the sustenance I longed for. I sought Him with everything I had. And I found Him. 

It’s been nearly 20 years since that day that I cried out to God in my car, driving down the road, on my way to work. But my life has never been the same. I have never stopped seeking Him and He has never failed to meet me in my seeking. Every day He shows me something new. Every day He teaches me how good He really is. And every day, He woos my heart to love Him more. It’s been a beautiful journey, one full of ups and downs, but one I would never wish to take back. I have never regretted seeking and finding God, the Lover of my soul. 

This is what prayer is. This is what it means to seek and find. Your story may look different than mine. But in the end, the desire to find God is the same. If we truly want to know Him, He will be found. That is the power of prayer. It is the medium that ushers us into the presence of the Eternal God. It is the connection our souls have to His goodness, His wisdom, and His peace. Prayer is a gift, so much more than rote words we speak over a meal or traditions passed down to us through the ages. Prayer is powerful, and it’s more precious than we can even imagine.