“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:9, 10).
“Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear” (Psalms 10:17).
“Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words” (Daniel 10:12).
“The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalms 14:2-3).
“God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God” (Psalms 53:2).
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (1 Chronicles 28:9).
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
“For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people,” (2 Chronicles 30:18-20).
May we all prepare our hearts to seek the Lord and find Him.
KNOWING GOD
1 John 2:4-5 may be compared with 2 Peter 1:8. Knowing God and Jesus requires BEING like them, and this causes us to ACT like them. Scriptures speak often of the knowledge of God—1 John 5:20; 2 Peter 1:8,2; 1 John 2:3-5; 1 John 3:5, 6; 1 John 4:6-8; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 2:4-6. To “know God” and “abide in God” are used in close association, if not interchangeably.
Think seriously about these things.
Beth Johnson