Seeking God and His truth is at the core of the Christian life. Here are some key Bible verses about seeking:
Proverbs 8:17
I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
This verse reminds us that God loves when we seek Him, and promises that those who do will find Him. Seeking God requires diligence and devotion.
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
We must seek God wholeheartedly, not half-heartedly. When we devote ourselves fully to pursuing God, we will find Him.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Jesus instructs us to prioritize seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness above all else. This honors God and leads to blessing in our lives.
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Asking, seeking and knocking describe a persistent pursuit of God. Jesus promises that those who actively seek God in this way will find Him.
Psalm 63:1
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
This psalm models the passionate seeking after God that we are called to. Only He can satisfy the deep longings of our soul.
Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
Our seeking after God includes both pursuing Him and pursuing obedience to His Word. The two go hand in hand.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Drawing near to God requires faith that He exists and rewards seeking. Seeking Him pleases Him.
Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Again, the promise of finding God is linked to wholeheartedly devoting ourselves to seeking Him. Casual seeking is not enough.
Psalm 34:10
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Seeking God leads to abundant provision for our needs, while those who neglect Him suffer lack.
Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
We are called to urgently seek the Lord while He may be found. Repentance prepares the way for successful seeking.
Lamentations 3:25
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
God rewards those who wait upon Him and continue seeking Him faithfully through seasons of waiting.
1 Chronicles 28:9
And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
Seeking God requires wholehearted devotion. When we seek Him He will make Himself known to us.
2 Chronicles 15:2
and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Again, God promises that He will make Himself known to those who seek Him, but warns against forsaking Him. Our seeking must be consistent.
Jeremiah 50:4-5
“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’
In the last days, God’s people will join together in weeping and repentance, seeking Him and His will for their lives.
Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
In all seasons, but especially in times of spiritual dryness, we must break up the fallow ground of our hearts and sow righteousness by seeking the Lord.
Zephaniah 2:3
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord.
Humility and obedience prepare us to successfully seek the Lord and be hidden in Him in the day of judgment.
Acts 17:26-27
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
God strategically placed each person where they are so that they would seek Him and find Him, because He is not far from any of us.
Psalm 27:8
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
When God invites us to seek His face, we must respond wholeheartedly, like the psalmist. Seeking God’s presence should be our heart’s desire.
Psalm 105:3-4
Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Seeking the Lord brings rejoicing. We are called to continually seek His strength and presence. This is a lifelong pursuit.
Psalm 34:14
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
Along with seeking God, we are called to seek peace and pursue it. This contributes to a righteous and God-honoring life.
Proverbs 18:15
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
A wise and intelligent person seeks to continually grow in knowledge and understanding, especially of God.
Daniel 9:3
Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel’s example shows seeking God includes earnest prayer, fasting, repentance and humility. It is not passive.
1 Timothy 6:11
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
We seek God by also pursuing spiritual virtues like righteousness, godliness, faith, love and gentleness.
Hebrews 11:14-16
For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Like the saints of old, we must see our life on earth as seeking an eternal homeland in the heavenly city that God has prepared.
Romans 3:11
No one understands; no one seeks for God.
Left to ourselves, no fallen human being seeks for God. It is only by His grace that we are enabled to seek Him.
Matthew 6:19-21
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Seeking heavenly treasure, rather than earthly, keeps our focus on God rather than the temporary things of this world.
James 4:2-3
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Wrong motives, like seeking only to satisfy selfish desires, will hinder prayers from being answered. Seeking God must be primary.
James 4:7-10
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Seeking God requires resisting the devil, purifying our hearts, mourning over sin, and humbling ourselves before God.
Mark 12:30
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Loving God completely is tightly linked to wholeheartedly seeking Him. We must devote our entire being.
Luke 12:31
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
Rather than seeking material possessions, we should seek God’s kingdom, trusting He will provide what we need.
John 5:30
I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
As Jesus modeled perfectly, seeking God means laying down our own will and desires to pursue His will alone.
John 5:44
How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Seeking praise and glory from one another hinders true faith. We must seek only God’s glory.
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.
God’s purpose for all people everywhere is that they would seek, find and know Him through faith in Jesus. We must help fulfill this mission.
This sampling of verses provides biblical insight into the many facets of seeking God – the motives, methods, hindrances, and blessings. May it instruct and inspire us to wholeheartedly seek the Lord in every season of life. He promises that those who earnestly seek Him will find Him. There is no greater pursuit.