More than anything else, I want to help you have the best life you can possibly have. At times, that means answering honest, heartfelt questions, such as, “What if I don’t want to seek God with all my heart? What if I don’t have any desire to put Him first in my life?” Most of the time, people who have the courage to ask these questions really want to want to seek God. The fact that they don’t crave God’s presence often makes them feel guilty or embarrassed, but I think it’s good that they are honest. If you wish you wanted to seek God, but the thought of praying and reading your Bible doesn’t really thrill you, let me help.
Ask
First, ask God to give you the desire you need. If you do not have a genuine desire to know God and seek His ways, you will exhaust yourself trying. You must have that desire, because desire is the fuel that enables you to keep going as you grow in God. It makes you want to be in God’s presence, and it helps you stay focused as you pray and read God’s Word. God is the One who gives us the will and desire to work for His good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13), so ask.
Prayer is the way we ask for what we need from God, and when we pray, He hears and answers. If you don’t have a desire to grow in your relationship with God, don’t try to convince anyone (including yourself and God) that you do. Admit that you don’t really want to do it, then ask Him to help you want to want to. After all, God knows your heart; He knows when you don’t really want to seek Him, but He also knows when you wish you could want to. He wants to give you that desire, so ask Him, and He will. If you know that other things are too important to you and that you need to have a change of heart, start praying about it and God will work in you to change your desires. In Psalm 38:9, David told God that all of his desire was before Him. God can give us desires that are good and right and take away ones that are destructive, so ask!
I have had people say, “I wish I felt the way you do about God, but I just don’t.” They may not realize that I did not always have the passion for God that I have now. I had to do the same things I am encouraging you to do. I prayed to want to pray more, to want to study more, and to want to give and serve more. I pray all the time not to be selfish and self-centered. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2), so start asking!
Be Disciplined
Second, you’ll have to exercise spiritual disciplines. Let me give you an example. You don’t want to be physically hungry for very long, do you? Of course not. So you think about what you’d like to eat; you go to the store and buy it; you take it home; you prepare it; you eat it; then you clean up after it. You may spend two hours preparing a meal that takes ten minutes to eat. Nevertheless, you have to make an effort if you don’t want to go hungry.
You feed yourself spiritually in a similar manner. The spiritual part of you does want and need to spend quality time with God, but your flesh needs to be disciplined. It needs to form new habits. Prayer is talking to God about all kinds of things. You would never expect to have a good relationship with a human being if you never spoke to that person or took time to listen to him or her, would you? Then why would you think you could enjoy a growing relationship with God if you never spoke or listened to Him? Spending time in God’s Word and in prayer are both spiritual disciplines that help us get to know Him.
Worship and praise is another way to connect with God. When you worship God, you focus on who He is; you magnify all the things that are so wonderful about Him and you thank Him for all of His goodness in your life. This causes your faith to grow and it draws you closer to Him. Serving and giving with a right motive also brings us closer to God. All of these spiritual disciplines prevent you from being hungry spiritually. Make the effort to exercise them, and you’ll see what I mean.
Educate Yourself
Another way to seek God is to educate you concerning the ways and purposes of God. You certainly have to put your heart into seeking God, but you also have to put your mind into it and you have to learn things you may not know yet. Find a good, solid, Bible-based church and get involved in it. Read books; listen to sermons and teachings; take classes or go to Bible studies; attend conferences and seminars; find people who are more mature and experienced in God than you are and ask them questions. If you are truly seeking God, you will need to make an effort. Investing time and money into getting the resources you need to grow is a valuable investment that pays wonderful dividends. If you went to college, you would expect to purchase textbooks and make an investment of time in order to gain the knowledge you desired. Why should learning about God be any different?
