Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:12,13)
It was not a good time for Judah. Many of her citizens were living in exile in Babylon. The capital city, Jerusalem, would fall in the near future. Among the Jewish people, hope was scarce. But God wasn’t finished with this tiny nation. He commissioned the prophet Jeremiah to proclaim a message of hope and comfort. The Lord told the exiles that their captivity would not last forever. In 70 years He would bring them home. He also told the discouraged captives that He welcomed their communication and would both hear and answer their cries. But God stated that there would be one condition: that they must seek Him with all of their heart.
In other words, the Lord insisted that they pray with sincerity. Have you ever thought about all of the hang-ups we humans have about God and prayer? We make it so complicated! God doesn’t. God simply tells us to seek Him like we mean it — with all of our heart.
