You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful for comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
And who can grasp Your infinite wisdom
And who can fathom the depths of Your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above
And I stand, I stand in awe of You
And I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God, to Whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You
The Acts Church Worship Team
written by Mark Altrogge
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Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me,
and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:12 and 13
Recently, I have been RE-reminded of the importance and immense value of purposefully seeking our God. It should go without saying that it is such a deep need of our hearts to intentionally remove ourselves from our day-to-day surroundings (with the inherent distractions that come along with that) and quietly be in His presence.
There is no greater example (that I can recall) of someone who recognized the need and importance of seeking God and spending time in His presence than our Lord Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, we read of many times when Jesus purposefully withdrew from His disciples, and from ministering to the needs of the people, and went to pray. We see how valuable it was to Him to be alone with His Father, seeking Him, and spending time in His presence.
And in the morning, long before daylight,
He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.
Mark 1:35
And after He had taken leave of them, He went off into the hills to pray.
Mark 6:46
But He Himself withdrew to the wilderness (desert) and prayed.
Luke 5:16
Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray,
and spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:12
Within the context of each of these glimpses into Jesus’ life, we observe that He:
- before even beginning His day, went and prayed
- in the midst of trying circumstance, went to be alone with God in
- preparation for important decisions, got alone with His Father and prayed
- after much time ministering to people and teaching them, left and sought God and prayed
How much more do we need to emulate His heart in recognizing our great need to be alone with our heavenly Father, seeking Him, and praying?
Perhaps the most poignant example that Jesus left us is His time seeking His Father in prayer just prior to His betrayal and arrest in the garden of Gethsemane.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, Sit down here while I go over yonder and pray. And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed. Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me. And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire. And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour? All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep. So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words.
Matthew 26:36-44
Words escape me to express how deeply I recognize my Lord’s awareness of His need of His Father at this incredibly stress-filled, sorrowful time! But my heart is convicted and reminded of my own need to do the same! If Jesus, the Perfect Man, who was totally without sin and always able to rise above any temptation, so needed this time seeking His Father…then I am without excuse to ever think I do not need the same…and much, much more!
How very blessed we are to know that this is God’s Will…that He desires us to seek Him…that He is always available to us…that our yearning hearts will always be welcomed into His presence. How very thankful we are to know that through His suffering, persecution, death and resurrection, Jesus—our Redeemer, our Savior, our Lord and Master—has broken down any barrier between us and Almighty God, and made it available for us to approach His Throne of grace!
But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away,
through the blood of Christ have been brought near.
For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony).
By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law
with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two
might create in Himself one new man, so making peace.
And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off
and [peace] to those who were near.
For it is through Him that we…now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit
to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him].
Ephesians 2:13-18
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Keep seeking Him and enjoy your quiet time with your Lord! Express your needs as well as the praise and adoration that is in your heart! As you seek Him, He will be found…He promises!
