Blog 56 / Our High Calling

A Life in Pursuit of Knowing God

A dear friend and coworker recently passed away. I worked with him for over 40 years. During that time, I grew to greatly respect his abiding love for God. When he prayed, it was obvious he was intimately acquainted with the One to whom he was praying. It was obvious also that his chief ambition in life was to know God.

If I were ever to write his biography, I would entitle it, “A Life in Pursuit of Knowing God.”

I like the phrase “in pursuit of.” It implies we are intentional about going after something we want desperately. An example might an athlete willing to get up every day at 5 am to train in pursuit of his dream to set a new Olympic record. He would need to forsake lesser goals to gain his prize.

For followers of Christ, we should be setting our hearts on loftier pursuits. And it doesn’t get more lofty than the pursuit of knowing God. It’s a quest with an eternal prize. But we can grow in the knowledge of God only to the extent we are willing to die to self.

Our self-life is our greatest obstacle to knowing God. What it takes to know God is too hard on the flesh and self is not willing to pay the price to know God more deeply. The self-life always gravitates towards a life of ease and worldly pleasures. On the other hand, the life of Christ in us will always want to spend time with the Father and set its affections on things above.

Am I willing for self to die for the sake of knowing God? Am I willing to choose a life where I grow in my knowledge of God no matter how difficult it is on the flesh? Am I willing for a life like Paul the Apostle, who counted all things as loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ?

Down through the ages, there have been those who have made it their life’s ambition to know God. It cost some their lives. I believe my friend who recently passed into Glory will be numbered among these saints. His life bore a shining witness that a long time ago, he too must have made a life choice: to invest his life in the pursuit of knowing God.

 

 

Colin Stott
GRN Global Prayer Coordinator

read colin’s previous blogs:
The church triumphant – blog 55
we do not have because we do not ask – blog 54
exclusive property of god – blog 53
indispensable prayers of the church – blog 52
the battle is still the lord’s – blog 51
FOLLOWING THE LAMB – blog 50
nothing is impossible with god – blog 49
It is a wonderful life – blog 48
Listening for the master’s voice – blog 47
prayer and unbelief – blog 46
Our Motivation in Praying for the Lost – blog 45
demolishing strongholds – blog 44
overcome evil with good- blog 43
dealing with strongholds – blog 42
when our prayers go unanswered – blog 41
key to unanswered prayer – blog 40
prayer and The bride – blog 39
The Battle is the Lord’s – blog 38
praying for workers – blog 37
finding time to pray – blog 36
when the church is under attack – blog 35
FEASTING and FASTING – blog 34
OUR AUTHORITY IN PRAYER – blog 33
why ask for what we already have? – blog 32
is anyone praying for them? – blog 31
delays are part of answered prayer – blog 30
weapons of our warfare – blog 29
Keeping our spiritual fervor – blog 28
days of great harvest – blog 27
not i but christ – blog 26
what if – Blog 25
praying scripture – Blog 24
Prayer and obedience -Blog 23
the Prayer warrior – Blog 22
time alone with god – Blog 21
last resort – Blog 20
Prayer with rejoicing faith – Blog 19
travel the world through Prayer – Blog 18
lord, break me – Blog 17
ye have not because ye ask not – Blog 16
our Prayers reveal our heart – Blog 15
church of the living god – Blog 14
when we Pray for the lost – Blog 13
more than meets the eye – Blog 12
sugar cubes and  Prayer – Blog 11
it’s a wonderful life – Blog 10
the longings of god – Blog 9
praising god before he answers – Blog 8
no place like home – Blog 7
praying for god’s glory – Blog 6
are we known as formidable opponents – Blog 5
sugar cubes and Prayer – Blog 4
rejocing over god with singing – Blog 3
the indispensable Prayers of the church – Blog 2
the glorious end – Blog 1