Jeremiah 29:13  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)

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God has plans for your life better than the plans you have for yourself. If you are not clear what those plans are, could it be you are not seeking them from God? Could it be your seeking is tepid or fearful of what he might ask from you? 

Many people love verse 11 in this chapter. What’s not to love? It’s good stuff! It benefits us all to read the whole chapter in context and see the other words of truth and life contained here. Verses 7 and 11 lead us to verse 13. God’s best attention and focus go to those who go to him with their whole hearts. 

This is the day of the week when Christians gather for worship. This spiritual discipline puts us together with others like us who are on faith journeys. Each of us is in a different place in our spiritual development. All of us can encourage one another as we take our next steps of faith. 

Before we can go all-in on verse 11, we need to go all in on verse 13. Verse 11 doesn’t really work if we are unwilling to trust God from the bottom of our hearts like Proverbs 3:5, 6 so memorably declares. 

Verse 12 teaches us how to go to God. It says, “Then you will call on me.” Call is a word for prayer. Many times it is an eyes-wide-open prayer. It is a prayer spoken in the course of action. “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me.” These can be prayers prayed in the course of worship. These can be prayers prayed in special times of focus. The best part of this verse is what God says next: “and I will listen to you.” 

God hears and answers prayer. Prayer itself is not powerful. Many people pray and nothing happens. This is why many people have stopped praying.  The good news is God demonstrates his power in response to our wholehearted prayers (verse 13). 

• God has a plan for your life better than any you have for yourself.
• God’s plan is bigger than your life and includes your whole community.
• God is more willing to be found than we are to seek him.
• God answers our prayers better than we pray them when we seek him with all of our hearts. 
• God answers our prayers better than we pray them when we seek HIM with all of our hearts and not merely seek his answers to our prayers. 

What is the best prayer lesson you have learned from this chapter? What is the lesson you will apply now?

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I will seek God with all of my heart and take all of my deepest concerns to him.

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Our Father, I want more of you. I want to know you and your plans for me. I bring to you my whole heart and my deepest desires. I want what you want for me. Amen.