Complete Bible Study Guide

What Does the Bible Say About Seeking God?

88 Scripture references with full text and commentary

Understanding Seeking God in the Bible

What does the Bible say about seeking god? Browse 13 carefully selected verses that illuminate this biblical theme.

88
Total Verses
72
Old Testament
16
New Testament

Top 10 Verses About Seeking God

  1. 1
    Deuteronomy 4:29
    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.
    KJV
  2. 2
    Deuteronomy 12:5
    But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
    KJV
  3. 3
    1 Chronicles 16:11
    Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
    KJV
  4. 4
    1 Chronicles 22:19
    Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
    KJV
  5. 5
    1 Chronicles 28:8
    Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
    KJV
  6. 6
    1 Chronicles 28:9
    And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
    KJV
  7. 7
    2 Chronicles 11:16
    And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
    KJV
  8. 8
    2 Chronicles 12:14
    And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. prepared: or, fixed
    KJV
  9. 9
    2 Chronicles 14:7
    Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.
    KJV
  10. 10
    2 Chronicles 15:12
    And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
    KJV

Subtopics of Seeking God

seeking gods will
Afflictions designed to lead to
Are gone out of the way of
Asa
Being heard of him
Blessedness of
By prayer
Characterised by
Christ
Commanded
Daniel
David
Desirous of
Early in
Earnest in
Ends in praise
Engage in, with the whole heart
Evermore
Ezra
Gifts of righteousness

Old Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Seeking God? (72 Verses)

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.
But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.
Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.
And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers.
And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. prepared: or, fixed
Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.
And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; of: or, of his father, and of David
But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. in the visions: Heb. in the seeing of God
That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him.
I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. God is: or, all his thoughts are, There is no God
The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. filthy: Heb. stinking
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. O Jacob: or, O God of Jacob
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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 enquire in his temple. the beauty: or, the delight
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. When: or, My heart said unto thee, Let my face seek thy face, etc
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; thirsty: Heb. weary where: without water
The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. humble: or, meek
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. sore: Heb. hand
Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.
When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.
Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. at liberty: Heb. at large
I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts.
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.
I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Yet they seek me daily , and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. acknowledge: Heb. be guilty
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;
And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham; by the: or, to the LORD
And them that are turned back from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him.
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

New Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Seeking God? (16 Verses)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. the shepherds: Gr. the men the shepherds
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another , and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one .
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid .
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

How to Study What the Bible Says About Seeking God

  1. 1

    Begin by reading through every verse listed on this page, noting which ones speak most directly to your current season of life. Write them down and revisit them throughout the week.

  2. 2

    Use a concordance or the search tools on this site to find additional passages about seeking god. Look for patterns across both the Old and New Testaments to gain a complete picture of what God reveals on this subject.

  3. 3

    Study the context of each verse. Read the surrounding chapter to understand who was speaking, who the audience was, and what circumstances prompted the passage. Context prevents misapplication.

  4. 4

    Memorise at least one key verse about seeking god and meditate on it daily. Scripture memory transforms thinking and equips you to apply God's Word in real-time situations.

Practical Application

Studying what the Bible says about seeking god is only the beginning. Scripture is meant to be lived out in daily obedience and faith. Here are practical steps to apply these truths:

  • Identify one area of your life where the biblical teaching on seeking god needs to be applied more consistently. Write a specific, actionable step you can take this week.

  • Share what you have learned about seeking god with a fellow believer or in a small group setting. Teaching others solidifies your own understanding and encourages mutual growth.

  • Pray through the key verses about seeking god, asking God to reveal how His Word applies to your relationships, decisions, and daily habits.

How Well Do You Know What the Bible Says About Seeking God?

You have studied 88 verses about seeking god. Now test your knowledge with chapter-by-chapter quizzes covering the books where these verses appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Bible say about seeking god?
What does the Bible say about seeking god? Browse 13 carefully selected verses that illuminate this biblical theme. The Bible contains 88 key verses about seeking god spanning both Old and New Testaments.
How many Bible verses about seeking god are there?
There are 88 key Bible verses about seeking god compiled in this study guide, drawn from books across both the Old and New Testaments.
What is the best verse about seeking god?
One of the most well-known and frequently cited verses about seeking god is Deuteronomy 4:29 — "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."
Where in the Bible does it talk about seeking god?
Seeking God is discussed throughout the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. You can find 88 references to this topic across multiple books including the Psalms, Proverbs, the Gospels, and the Epistles.

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Topics Included

This page consolidates Bible verses from 2 related topics:

seeking god