“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:12-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬
http://bible.com/111/jer.29.12-13.

Have you you ever tried to do something that you just really didn’t want to do, but had to do. Chances are you did it half heartedly. You didn’t give it your best. The problem with that is often when we do something half heartedly we don’t do a sufficient job and we have to do it over or correct mistakes.

At some point in my life, I learned to do the jobs I didn’t like first and devote my full energy to them. Then when I got to the jobs or the part of the job I really liked, I would do it whole heartedly even if it was later in the day and I was not feeling so energetic. I learned to whole heartedly do even the jobs I didn’t really care for.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to pray. However, as a child it was something I did before going to sleep at night. You kneel down and say your prayers. I thank God for a mother and grandmother that instilled this in me from as young an age as I can remember. But as I got older, I realized that by bedtime I was so exhausted that my prayers were often half hearted repetitions.

See I’m a morning person. I’m at my best early in the day. So I have learned that in order to whole heartedly seek God, I need to read my bible and pray first thing in the morning.

The key here whether you are an early bird or a night owl,  is to seek God with your whole heart. Give Him all you’ve got. Don’t give God the leftover remnants of your day. Give Him the best part of your day at a time where you can focus on Him completely.

Now the Bible teaches us to teach a child in the right ways and they will not depart from it. I can attest that this is true. I still kneel beside my bed every night just as I did as a young child and talk with my Heavenly Father just before going to sleep. But I’ve learned that we can never have too much communication or quality time with God. I pray in the morning and often times find myself praying throughout the day. Why not? We have an awesome Heavenly Father who promises that he will never leave us nor forsake us. He tells us not to fear for He is with us. I’ve learned to take full advantage of this, and call upon Him throughout the day.

My beloved former pastor was called home to be with our Heavenly Father last fall, but as I write these words I am reminded of something he used to say. “You can even pray while you are driving, just don’t close your eyes”.

My prayer for you today my friend, is that you will seek God with your whole heart. When you do so, He will hear you and you will find Him. You will also find yourself in an awesome, and loving relationship with Him.

Put God first and have a great day!