God promises to be found by those who seek Him wholeheartedly: "ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). "Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually" (1 Chronicles 16:11), and "they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing" (Psalm 34:10).
To seek the Lord is to go after God Himself: His presence, His face and His will, not only His help. The Bible's promise is striking: those who truly seek Him will find Him. These twelve King James verses gather God's promise to be found, David's prayers to seek His face, and the blessing that comes to seekers, ending with the Son of man who came to seek us. They make a good focus for the first weeks of the year. For priorities, see putting God first; for staying focused, see distraction.
Seek Him and you will find Him
1. Jeremiah 29:13
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
Two verses after the famous plans verse (Jeremiah 29:11), God tells the exiles in Babylon how to find Him. The key words are all your heart: not perfect seeking, but wholehearted seeking.
2. Deuteronomy 4:29
"But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."
Moses foresaw Israel scattered for their sin, and still promised that if they sought God from there, they would find Him. No place is too far to start seeking the Lord.
3. Proverbs 8:17
"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
Wisdom speaks here, and early can mean both early in the day and earnestly. Many Christians take it as a reason to give God the first minutes of the morning.
4. Lamentations 3:25
"The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him."
Written among the ruins of Jerusalem, this verse links seeking with waiting. When answers are slow, keep seeking; God is good to the soul that seeks Him. See also waiting on God.
Seek His face
5. Psalms 27:8
"When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."
God invites first, and David answers. Seeking the Lord is a response to His call, not an attempt to get the attention of a distant God.
6. 1 Chronicles 16:11
"Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually."
David's psalm was sung when the ark came to Jerusalem. Continually means seeking God is not a once-a-year resolution but a daily rhythm of prayer, Scripture and worship.
7. Psalms 63:1
"O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;"
David wrote this in the wilderness of Judah, thirsty in a dry land. Spiritual thirst is not a sign that God is gone; it is an invitation to seek Him. See also water.
8. Hosea 10:12
"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."
Break up your fallow ground pictures a farmer plowing hard, unused soil. A new year is a good time to break up hard places in the heart and seek the Lord again.
The blessing of seeking God
9. Psalms 34:10
"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing. God knows what is truly good for His children.
10. Psalms 119:2
"Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart."
Psalm 119 ties seeking God to keeping His word. Reading Scripture is one of the clearest ways to seek Him, and a Bible reading plan makes it daily.
11. Acts 17:27
"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:"
Paul told the philosophers of Athens that God made people to seek Him, and that He is not far from every one of us. Seeking God does not begin with distance.
12. Luke 19:10
"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
Jesus said this at the house of Zacchaeus. Before we ever seek the Lord, He is seeking us, and our seeking is answered by a Savior who came looking. See also repentance.
A short prayer
Lord, You said, Seek ye my face, and my heart answers, Your face, LORD, will I seek. Give me a wholehearted desire for You this year. Meet me in Your word and in prayer, break up the hard ground in my heart, and thank You that You came seeking me first. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
New to this method? See our Bible study guide or pick a Bible reading plan.
Get our free 7-Day New Year Scripture Focus Plan · Start the free One-Year Bible Reading Plan · Seek Him daily with the 30-Day Prayer Journal
Frequently asked questions
What does it mean to seek the Lord?
To seek the Lord means to pursue God Himself in prayer, Scripture, worship and obedience, wanting His presence more than His gifts. The Bible stresses the whole heart (Deuteronomy 4:29). It is not a search for a hidden God, because He is not far from every one of us (Acts 17:27).
How can I seek God every day?
Set a regular time and place, even ten minutes. Read a short passage, pray it back to God and write one line in a journal. Many people start in the morning: "those that seek me early shall find me" (Proverbs 8:17). A plan such as our One-Year Bible Reading Plan helps.
What does seek ye first mean in Matthew 6:33?
Jesus said, "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). It means putting God's rule and ways ahead of worry about food, clothes and money. See putting God first.
Will God really let me find Him?
Yes. Scripture repeats the promise: "ye shall seek me, and find me" (Jeremiah 29:13), and Moses promised the same to scattered Israel (Deuteronomy 4:29). Finding God may not look like a feeling or a vision; often it is a growing trust, peace and understanding as you keep seeking.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Bible verses about putting God first · Bible verses about prayer · Bible verses about waiting on God · Bible verses about walking with God · Morning Bible verses · Bible verses about distraction · Bible verses about repentance
Explore more: All Bible verses by topic · KJV Bible verses · Verse of the day · Prayers · Bible study · Bible reading plans
