The Difference Between Asking and Seeking

Recently, the Lord told me not to seek something, but He told me to ask for it. This spurred questions in my head about the difference between the two, and I also remember the Bible verse that says, Ask and you will receive, seek and you shall find. That means even the Bible establishes that there is a difference between the two. God has been teaching me a lot about seeking Him lately, and one thing of note that I have learned is that when seeking, you stay until you have what you desire. Right, even the Bible says when you seek God, that is, requiring Him as your vital necessity and your greatest need, then He will be found of you. In my own words, I translate it as Go all out to get what you need. Stay until you receive it. Unfortunately, many people have lost the heart that seeks God. Some have never even done it. It’s alright, I was in your shoes not too long ago. I just didn’t know how to.

The Lord steered my heart to go on a quest to find Him. It was spurred on by a conversation I was having with a friend, who was telling me about moments where He sought God, with doors shut, no distractions. He even kept a post at His door that He would not be available until after three days in his parents’ house. That conversation created a strong desire in me to go after God that way. We sit for hours upon hours, days upon days, studying for exams or working a job. But many of us have never channeled that kind of energy into going after God. Maybe you are asking me right now, why do I need to find God? He is wherever He is. He’s not lost. Why do I need to seek Him? Funny how God asked me the same question in my quest for Him. He said, Nifemi, what do you want? Truth be told, when I started, my desire was like 10%, but I went ahead anyway.

My response was, “Lord, I just want to know you. I want to want you. I need to need you. I don’t want to go about my life thinking I don't need you. My desire and thirst for you isn’t there, but I want it to be there.“ It was a sincere, heartfelt prayer portraying what I wanted. And I stayed until I found Him. Then, the next day, I went after Him again because I realized how much I needed Him. Then the day after, I went to Him again. He taught me about Him, His ways. He gifted me His presence, and I never wanted to leave. Everything else felt so mundane to me. All I could see was Him. It felt like the entire world had faded away, and it was just me and Him.

Then, weeks after, the quest hasn’t ended because each day, I realize there is more to Him than I know. All the years I spent not seeking Him as my greatest need felt so insignificant in my eyes, and I just wondered what I had been doing with my life all along. Don’t get me wrong, I prayed routinely. I did. But I didn’t know what prayer was until I started this journey of seeking Him.

It’s been a beautiful journey of intimacy, restoration, healing, deliverance, and becoming a better version of myself. He makes everything better and beautiful. He is so full of love, grace, and strength. He led me to write this so you would come up too and seek Him, not for things but for who He is. For who He is. So that you will know the Lord your God. The Bible says anyone who comes to God must first know who He is before knowing Him as the rewarder. He rewards us when we pray, yes. But the priority of prayer is Him. He is our greatest reward.

Asking is passive, but seeking is active. That’s the difference.