If You Seek Him

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6, NKJV).

When Jesus speaks of going into a secret closet to seek the Father, he is talking about something much greater than a physical closet. The Old Testament tells us God divided his people into two categories: those who regularly seek him in their secret place of prayer, and those who do not.

When God became angry with Israel over their idolatry, Moses pitched his prayer tent outside the camp. Scripture says, “And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp” (Exodus 33:7). Amid all the idolatry taking place in Israel, God’s people still took time to seek the Lord. This seeking remnant knew they had to go outside the camp lest they, too, fall into the apostasy sweeping over the people.

Centuries later, the people under King Asa understood why God blessed and prospered them and kept them at peace with all their enemies: “Because we have sought the Lord our God…he has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered” (2 Chronicles 14:7).

At one point during Asa’s reign, an army of one million Ethiopians came against Israel. “And Asa cried out to the Lord his God, and said…’O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against You!’ So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa…for they were broken before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 14:11-13).

When Asa was attacked, he turned to God in prayer and God answered with victory. Shortly after that triumph, however, Azariah the prophet came to Asa and said: “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” (2 Chronicles 15:2). In other words, God will forsake you if you stop seeking after him and calling on his name in all you do.

God blessed Israel every time they sought the Lord in prayer, and he delivered them. What an encouraging word for us today!

“But when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them” (2 Chronicles 15:4).