If You Could Ask One Thing

If you could ask one thing of the Lord, what would it be? The psalmist, David, was going through a tough time with major problems around him and adversaries against him, yet he had only one major request of the Lord. Here it is—

“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” (Psalm 27:4).

Notice that David’s big request is not things from God, but for God. The focus of his prayer is not upon himself, nor his needs, but it is upon his God. His concern is not his own concerns. It is that He might worship the Lord. He knew if He put this first, then God would take care of the rest. So the psalmist’s first priority in prayer was to worship the Lord all the days of his life.

Jesus teaches us similarly in the Sermon on the Mount, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). In the context, Jesus is speaking of God meeting the needs of our lives. This He will do as we do this one thing: Seek Him first!

Devotional writer, Thomas A Kempis, in his book The Imitation of Christ wrote: “If you have riches, do not glory in them, nor in friends, because they are influential, but glory in God, who desires to give you all things (you need), but most of all desires to give you Himself.”

What we need most in life is God. This should be our highest pursuit—our greatest aspiration. Seek a deep, abiding relationship with God. This is our first cause, daily and for a lifetime.

Life can be complicated and hard—this we can readily admit. As the called of God, we desire to live maturely and meet the challenges of life responsibly. If we would be faithful stewards of the life entrusted to us in all respects, then we must keep God at the center of everything and always live to His glory!

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron