Seek His Face, Not His Hand

February 4th, 2025.

"When we seek His hand first, we often miss His face. When we seek His face first, we see His hand at work."

I attended a weekend retreat in January as a way to hear from God, get quiet with Him, and start my year with some clarity. Of all the things that were shared during our praise and worship time, the concept above landed hard for me.

I am a hand-seeker. As much as I have tried to avoid treating God as a cosmic vending machine, I still find myself resisting the pull to seek His hand first. When I'm not careful, my morning prayers begin with, "Help me move this mountain." "Deliver me from this situation." "Provide for me in this area." "Protect me from this."

The one word that weaves through all of those prayers? Me.

I want to be careful here as I unpack this. Scripture is clear. God wants us to ask him for the things that matter to us most, the big things and the small ones.

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - Matthew 21:22

"And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:15

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24

The Word is clear. Asking is Biblical, and we have a heavenly Father who is waiting for us to ask Him for things. Asking is an act of humility, responding to God for help and acknowledging that we are not in control. It is the ultimate form of release.

The challenge is this. Too often, all we do is ask. Too often, we let our prayer life dry up, and then we ask in desperation. Too often, we seek God's hand but forget to seek His face. We forget to acknowledge WHO we're asking, and whose hand we're seeking.

It's been three weeks, and I am working hard to seek His face first. I am spending time in worship as I pray, reminding myself with scripture of who God is. An example of this comes from Psalm 145. From verses 3-11, this is the God we serve…

"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works—

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

All your works praise you, Lord;

your faithful people extol you.

They tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,"

This is the face of the God I serve… a Father who is abundant in goodness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love. He is the one who deserves my worship, praise, and adoration.

That doesn't mean I'm not seeking His hand or asking for His help in my life. I still have so many areas where I desperately need His power to flow… as a husband and a dad, in my business and my finances, as a son and a brother, in my health. His hand meets all of my needs, and I serve a God who moves mountains, delivers me, provides for me, and protects me.

When the pressure mounts, it's easy to become desperate for His hand. When we hit that spot where there's nowhere else to turn, His hand is the only thing left. God, extend your hand to me and save me before it all falls apart. My need is about to be exposed. Save me by your hand. You are my last resort.

Therein lies the problem.  I can't approach His face and His hand in the wrong order, and I can't see Him as my last resort. As a Christian man and leader, it's essential that I approach God with the reverence He deserves, and that my connection with Him begins from a place of worship. I've learned over time, sometimes the hard way, that when I seek His face first, his hand follows.

That's my call to each of you reading this. God is waiting for you to seek His face.

Need a place to start? Begin with Psalm 145, and then work through the Psalms. Pray the Psalms back to God, worshipping Him in the words of His own book. Scripture will reveal His face to you, and you'll find daily reminders that the Father loves you in ways you can't comprehend.

- John Gamades, Author of WAR: A Tactical Guide for Christian Men