Seeking The Face Of God

Instead Of Treating Him like a vending machine.

Seek First The Kingdom Of God And His Righteousness

A Step-by-Step Guide to Intercessory Delight.…..

Introduction:

In the quiet moments after a powerful sermon from our pastor delivered around Thanksgiving, a profound and unsettling realization took root in my heart. As I reflected on his words, I began to see the pattern of our collective spiritual lives:so much of our prayer is consumed by the pursuit of healing, the relief of physical burdens, or the fixing our our immediate circumstances.

“IN OUR DESPERATION FOR THE GIFT, WE HAVE OFTEN FORGOTTEN THE GIVER”

I began to imagine how Jesus must feel. There is a heartbreaking weight in realizing that we often treat the Creator of the universe like a divine vending machine—someone we only approach when we have a specific need to be filled or a wound to be mended. 

I tried to sit in His place, to feel the range of His emotions, and I was overwhelmed. He offers us His heart, and we ask only for His hand. We see this tension throughout the Gospels. In Mark 1, after a night of healing the entire city of Capernaum, Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to pray. 

When the disciples finally found Him and urged Him to return because "everyone is looking for you," Jesus did something startling. He didn't go back to the crowds waiting for miracles. He said, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come" (Mark 1:38).

Crowds Seeking Miracles

Jesus knew that the crowds were chasing the sensation of the miracle, not the substance of the Messiah. He left the region because they wanted to be healed, but they did not want to know Him.

This blog is born out of that vital, urgent distinction. It is a plea to move beyond the transaction of "Seeking His Hand" and into the transformative intimacy of "Seeking His Face." 

My prayer is that we stop coming to Him merely to have our lives made easier and start coming to Him because He is our life.

It is time to stop seeking what He can do and start seeking

WHO HE IS

Bible Fellowship Groups

For over 25 years, I have had the sacred privilege of leading Bible study groups, sitting across from men and women who love the Lord and carry heavy burdens. But in those two and a half decades, I have observed a quiet, heartbreaking trend that I can no longer ignore.

His Heart Is Etched In The Bible

Pray For What Is On The Center Of Gods Heart.

Rarely—fewer times than I can count—have I heard persistent, gut-wrenching prayers for the things that sit at the very center of God’s heart. We are quick to pray for a change in our bank accounts or the healing of our bodies, but where is the desperate cry for an Abiding life? Where is the relentless pursuit of a Desire to Obey, even when it costs us everything?

It grieves me to realize that we have become a people who pray for our neighbors' comfort, but rarely for a supernatural Love for our Neighbor that compels us to sacrifice. 

We ask for certainty, but we seldom plead for Faith. We hunger for relief, yet we rarely hunger and thirst for His Righteousness. In many ways we are just like our ancestors. 

Don’t Miss The Mark

I have spent a quarter-century watching us…me included miss the mark, and it has become vitally important to me that we shift our gaze. God is not a cosmic bystander waiting to fulfill our wish lists; He is a Father yearning for children who want Him more than they want His benefits. This is not just a theological observation for me—it is a fire in my very being. We are settling for crumbs when He has invited us to the feast of His presence. It is time we stop asking Him to bless our plans and…

Start asking Him to break our hearts for what breaks His.

The Heartbreak of the Messiah

Can you feel the ache of a Savior who offers you the fires of His heart, only to have you ask for the lint in His pockets? We are obsessed with the Hand that heals, yet we are terrified of the Face that transforms. We want the miracle; He wants the intimacy. We want the storm to cease; He wants to walk on the water with us.

The Vital Pivot

This is not a suggestion; it is a spiritual emergency. You were not created to be a consumer of miracles; you were created to be a companion of the Almighty. It is time to drop the list. It is time to stop begging for the 'stuff' of Heaven and start panting for the God of Heaven. When you finally stop seeking what He can do and start drowning in who He is, the healing you’ve been chasing will become the mere shadow of the Glory you’ve finally found.".....Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:33)

A Summons

This blog is more than a collection of thoughts—it is a summons to something deeper. I am looking for those ready to move past the surface and dwell in His presence and seek His face. If your heart is stirred for this kind of intimate, dedicated prayer partnership, pick an area that God wants you to focus on. Choose one specific area for growth (e.g., anger, fear, patience, Faith, anxiety Gossip, Pride, Envy, Idolatry, kindness, mercy gluttony, Abiding In Him, Faith, worry etc). Focus on a single area to allow for deep spiritual work…One of your top 10’s. Lean on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you in this change effort. You may want to partner up with a close friend that desires to start this journey with you. Once you are finished with one area, start on another. Also develop a healthy habit of praying for others, for their areas of weakness.

You will find more details in the E-book section of this website, under the same title. “Seeking The Face Of God”

God Bless you for reading and starting this journey.

 Oli