God's face, not his hand

Daniel Henderson has coined a phrase that captures an important truth: "Seek God's face before you seek his hand."

Speaking for myself, I am inclined to rush to God with requests.  I'm in a hurry to get what I want - sometimes telling myself that God wants what I want.

But Henderson, who has written books on worship-based prayer, says that our relationship with God will change dramatically if we turn our attention to him first.

In essence, he is saying that "seeking God's face" means loving and worshiping God and getting to know him in an ever-deeper way.  "Seeking God's hand" is all about asking him for whatever goodies we want at the moment.

There is nothing wrong with asking God for something.  That is an important part of prayer.  But Henderson and other authors say that we 21st century Christians need to change our focus.  We need to fix our eyes on Jesus.

The psalmist David makes this point in Psalm 27:4: "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

Gazing upon God may seem like a waste of time to us in our high-speed world.  This attitude even infects our activities as believers.  In the back of our minds, we feel the work of the church will never get done if we spend time contemplating and worshiping God.

But Henderson says that worship-based prayer transformed churches he led in California and Minnesota.  Group prayer suddenly became life-changing for people who participated and his church in Sacramento, California almost doubled in a few years.  That church then planted several daughter churches.

It's hard to sit still and worship God when deadlines are just around the corner.  But many great Christians have done just that.

Cultivating a strong relationship with God through prayer and reflective reading of the Bible was a hallmark of George Muller's very busy life starting and running several orphanages in Britain in the 19th century.  He did not make any major decision until he was absolutely certain God wanted him to do it.

In his books, Henderson urges his readers to take scripture passages and use them as prompts for worshiping God for who he is.  As we worship, our minds rise above our circumstances and we are able to pray for our concerns with greater understanding and hope.

If our hearts are in tune with God, we are more likely to see God at work.