The Joy of Seeking God’s Face

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

David is testifying, “I have one prayer, Lord, one request. It is my single most important goal in life; it consumes me and I will seek after it with all that is in me.” Make no mistake, David was no ascetic, shunning the outside world and hiding away in a lonely desert place. No, David was a passionate man of action, a great warrior, with huge throngs singing of his victories in battle. He was also passionate in his prayer and devotion, with a heart that yearned after God. The Lord had blessed David with many of the desires of his heart and he had tasted of everything a man could want in life: riches, power and authority, respect and adulation. On top of all this, he was surrounded by devoted men who were willing to die for him.

Most of all, David was a worshiper, a praising man who gave thanks to God for all his blessings. When David prayed that he might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, he was not talking about leaving his throne to move into the physical temple of God. No, his heart yearned for something he saw in the spirit. He said, in short, “There is a beauty, a glory, an excitement about the Lord I haven’t yet seen in my life. I want to know what it is like to have uninterrupted communion with my God. I want my life to be a living prayer.”

When David inquired of the Lord and prayed, “Have mercy also upon me, and answer me” (Psalm 27:7), God answered with these simple words, “Seek my face” (27:8). That is the key! As you seek God’s face, he will bring you into continual, uninterrupted communion with the Christ of glory.