“Seek, and you will find!” Matthew 7:7
Jesus gave this amazing promise primarily to His Children who pray. But it also includes a broader category of people and groups who will receive a response for their sincere ‘seeking.’
God’s willingness to reveal Himself to those ‘seeking’ is frequently confirmed in the Scriptures:
“The LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; (1 Chronicles 28:9)
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Isaiah 55:6.
The Greek word zeteo in Matthew 7 is “to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after.”
This word is further strengthened to a level in Heb 11:6, as ‘ekzeteo” as intense seeking required when coming to God:
“Because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
In fact, ‘seeking’ is revealed as God’s ultimate objective for humanity:
“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth… God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘ Acts 17:26-27.
God is not far from those who ‘seek Him’
This concept of seeking is not because God is hiding! He is seeking those who focus their attention on Him with deep desire and value HIm above all.
As we shared in the earlier circular, God responded to Gentile Cornelius’ prayer, although outside the ‘Christian’ form of seeking, and wanted Peter to get involved. Eventually, Peter concluded through that:
“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35)
Later, James in the Council of Jerusalem in Act 15 also affirmed that:
‘The words of the prophets are in agreement… that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord.” (Acts 15:15-18)
Similarly, we must believe that God is not far from Muslims, although they may be far from Him! During this Ramadan prayer, God too is seeking for those who are seeking Him.
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
The Muslims who are Seeking:
Muslims fall into this category of those ‘sincerely seeking’ the favor of God.
Listen to a testimony of a devout Muslim who, for several years, prayed during Ramadan.
“Growing up a Muslim, we looked forward to it as a family to earn spiritual merits. I fasted 30 days as a child of 8 years of age. Prayed the extra Tarabi prayers, including the night of prayer when the Quran was received. Ramadan month was always considered a month of favor from God.
This was a holy month, and we made all our efforts to stay holy.
Prayers were mostly the rituals, but in the heart was the cry to be near God and receive his favor.”
The Lord answered his prayer and eventually led him to a missionary who shared the Gospel and led him to Christ. Today, He leads a significant Church movement in a Muslim Nation! Praise God!
God will reward those ‘seeking’
Prayer for the “Night of Power” – Thursday 27th March.
In Islam, “The Night of Power,” or Laylat al-Qadr, is believed to be the night when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel and is considered the holiest night of the Islamic calendar.
On the 27th day of Ramadan month of holy fasting, as many as 1 billion devout seekers pray for a fresh revelation from God. Tradition holds that on this one night – the Night of Power – God reveals himself to the faithful through miracles, signs, and wonders.
Let us pray that God will reveal Himself to these ‘seekers’ and also that Christians will be open and available to connect with Muslims during this time.
Join the 24-hour Prayer for the ‘Night of Power’ organized by 110 Cities.com
Pic sources: sharefaith.com. 110 Cities.com