“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” (Psalm 34:4-6)

Seeking the Lord is a familiar theme throughout the prayers and songs of the Psalms, and the phrase “seek the LORD” appears 26 times in the Old Testament. Always, with no exceptions, both the term and the phrase imply an intense focus, a singular purpose to find the Lord. “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Please note the other action terms: the one who seeks also “looked” and “cried” while seeking. Both of the additional concepts imply a conscious awareness of the biblical reason for our prayer. “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth” (Psalm 145:18).

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee; O let me not wander from thy commandments” (Psalm 119:9-10). “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7). If we are to find the Lord, we must seek him with the intensity and singularity of purpose represented in these passages. HMM III

Adapted from Treasures in the Psalms, Henry M. Morris III, 348-349.