Are You Seeking God—or Just His Gifts?

 

When Prayer Becomes a Pursuit

There is something I learned during the seasons when I spent hours walking and talking with God: the closer I drew to Him, the more the supernatural gifts in my life seemed to sharpen.

I did not begin those prayer walks with a strategy for increasing words of knowledge. I was not timing my prayers so I could become more impressive in ministry. I loved asking God questions. I wanted His company. Sometimes I would walk for hours, talking, listening, worshipping, and turning things over with Him. Then I would encounter people and know things I could not have known naturally. Words of knowledge came with a clarity and frequency that amazed me.

For a while, I almost thought this was normal—and in one sense, it should be. A spiritual relationship with the biblical Jesus ought to produce spiritual fruit. Jesus said, “He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (John 15:5 KJV). When a branch remains connected to the vine, life flows through it.

But there is a dangerous turn we can make. Once we recognize that intimacy with God affects spiritual fruit and spiritual gifts, we may begin seeking intimacy as a technique. Prayer becomes a lever. The secret place becomes a power station. Instead of wanting God, we want what happens when we get close to God.

That is a slippery slope. There is a difference between loving the Gift Giver and learning how to use Him to get the gifts.

The Problem Is Not That Christians Seek God Too Much

Before I warn anyone about seeking God for the wrong reason, I need to say something plainly: most believers are not in danger of praying too much. Many barely pray at all. A hurried blessing over a meal, a desperate request when a bill is due, and five distracted minutes before bed are not the deep prayer life Jesus modeled.

I am not trying to put people under condemnation or turn prayer into a stopwatch. Time alone does not prove love. A person can spend an hour repeating words while the heart is far away. Jesus warned against “vain repetitions” (Matthew 6:7 KJV). Yet we should be honest: people make time for what they treasure.

Try telling your spouse, “I have scheduled seven minutes for you today, but I may check my phone while you talk.” That relationship will not deepen. Why do we imagine a living relationship with Jesus requires no attention, no listening, no sacrifice, and no time?

Jesus said:

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6 KJV)

The open reward is real, but notice the order. The Father is the focus of the secret place. The reward belongs to Him. The closet is not a vending machine, and God is not a spiritual force we manipulate by inserting enough prayer minutes.

Believers need more prayer, not less. We need people who seek God early, stay before Him when feelings fade, and learn to recognize the voice of the Spirit. But while learning to seek Him, we must also allow Him to purify why we seek Him.

When the Gift Quietly Replaces the Giver

Years ago, I developed friendships with missionaries and believers from different parts of the world through the Voxer app. We sent voice messages back and forth, shared testimonies, and compared what we were learning. One observation kept surfacing: when we spent more time with God, the gifts seemed to ramp up.

One of those friends, who later became well known in ministry, admitted something that impressed me because of its honesty. He was concerned that he had started seeking God because he wanted the gifts to increase. He did not want to love the manifestation more than the One who manifested Himself.

That concern was healthy. The danger is not noticing the temptation; the danger is refusing to examine it.

Scripture gives us a vivid warning in Simon the sorcerer. Simon saw the Holy Ghost given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands and offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power” (Acts 8:19 KJV). Peter answered that Simon’s heart was not right before God and told him to repent (Acts 8:20–22 KJV).

Simon wanted spiritual power, but he did not understand the heart of God. He saw an anointing he could add to his platform. That spirit can still operate without anyone offering literal money. We can offer God our fasting, prayers, giving, or public obedience as a transaction: “I did this; now give me power.”

James exposes the motive problem: “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3 KJV). A desire may wear religious clothes and still be lust. The lust may not be for money or sensual pleasure. It may be a lust to be seen as prophetic, powerful, indispensable, or unusually close to God.

We can crave a gift because we love people and want to edify them. That is good. Paul said, “desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1 KJV). But in the same breath he said to “follow after charity.” First Corinthians 12 lists gifts; First Corinthians 13 places love at the center; First Corinthians 14 tells us how gifts should build others up. Scripture never asks us to choose between love and power. It insists that power must operate through love.

The Gifts Are Not Trophies

A word of knowledge is not a trophy proving that I am spiritual. Prophecy is not a badge of rank. Healing is not evidence that the minister holding the microphone has become God’s favorite.

“The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Corinthians 12:7 KJV). Gifts are given for the good of others. They are tools of service, not ornaments for identity.

Jesus issued a sobering warning about people who point to manifestations as proof that they belong to Him:

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?... and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:22–23 KJV)

That passage should cure us of equating spiritual activity with intimacy. The frightening words are not “You never worked miracles.” They are “I never knew you.” Knowing Him is the issue.

Even when the seventy returned rejoicing that devils were subject to them, Jesus redirected their joy: “rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20 KJV). He did not deny their authority. He corrected the foundation of their joy.

If I become more excited that a demon obeyed me than that Jesus saved me, something is getting out of order. If I feel valuable only when a prophetic word lands accurately, I am building my identity on performance. If I become jealous when God uses someone else, I may love being gifted more than I love the body of Christ.

What Long Prayer Is Really For

Prayer is not fundamentally about accumulating spiritual voltage. Prayer is communion, surrender, worship, intercession, listening, and transformation.

The psalmist did not say, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that I may become famous for miracles.” He said:

“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.” (Psalm 27:4 KJV)

The reward was God Himself—His beauty, His presence, His counsel.

This is also why posture can matter. The Bible repeatedly shows people kneeling: Daniel kneeled three times a day and prayed (Daniel 6:10 KJV); Jesus “kneeled down, and prayed” in Gethsemane (Luke 22:41 KJV); Paul kneeled with the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:36 KJV); and he wrote, “I bow my knees unto the Father” (Ephesians 3:14 KJV).

Kneeling is not a magical position. A person who physically cannot kneel is not spiritually disqualified, and a proud heart can remain proud while the knees touch the floor. But voluntary kneeling teaches the body what the mouth claims: He is Lord, and I am not. Sometimes our hesitation to bow can reveal areas where surrender hasn’t reached as deep as our words.”

Walking with God is also biblical. “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:24 KJV). Adam and Eve heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8 KJV). I have found that prayer walks can remove distractions, awaken attention, and turn an ordinary road into a place of fellowship. The point is not whether you kneel in a room or walk down a street. The point is whether your heart turns toward Him.

The Conference Where the Spiritual World Opened

In Open Your Eyes: My Supernatural Journey, I describe experiences that convinced me the spiritual world is not a theological abstraction. At one conference, it was as though I was watching television in the spirit. Spiritual information came rapidly, and words of knowledge seemed available for people all around me. It was amazing.

Experiences like that can awaken hunger, but they can also tempt us to chase an experience we had yesterday. We begin trying to reproduce the atmosphere, the sensation, or the accuracy. We remember what happened when we prayed for hours, so we attempt to repeat the formula.

But yesterday’s encounter cannot replace today’s obedience. Israel could not preserve manna for the next day without it breeding worms (Exodus 16:19–20 KJV). We cannot store God in a method. We abide in a Person.

I am thankful for dramatic encounters, but the goal is not to live addicted to spiritual fireworks. The goal is to follow Jesus when the sky opens and when the road feels ordinary. Gifts may surge or seem quiet. His worth does not change.

How to Test Your Motives Without Quitting the Secret Place

Do not respond to this warning by praying less. Let God purify your prayer while you continue praying.

Ask yourself:

1. Would I still seek Jesus if no one ever knew? The secret place has no audience but God.
2. Would I still love Him if the manifestations became quiet? Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15 KJV).
3. Do I want gifts mainly to serve people—or to establish my identity? Gifts are given “to profit withal” (1 Corinthians 12:7 KJV).
4. Can I rejoice when God uses somebody else? Love “envieth not” and “seeketh not her own” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5 KJV).
5. Am I obeying what He already said? Jesus asked, “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46 KJV).
6. Is Jesus becoming more precious, or merely more useful? Paul counted everything loss “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8 KJV).

Motives are often mixed. I can sincerely love Jesus and still notice ambition operating in me. The answer is not to pretend purity. Bring the mixture into the light. David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart... and see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24 KJV).

Return to Your First Love

Jesus told the church at Ephesus, “thou hast left thy first love,” and then commanded, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works” (Revelation 2:4–5 KJV).

Notice that this church had labor, patience, discernment, and doctrinal vigilance. Yet something central had cooled. It is possible to work for Jesus, defend truth about Jesus, and even minister in His name while no longer loving Him as we once did.

Maybe you remember a season when you could not wait to pray. You carried questions to Him throughout the day. Scripture came alive. You were aware of the Holy Spirit while driving, working, and walking. Then life became crowded. Prayer became shorter. Ministry relationships remained, but the private friendship weakened.

Do not merely try to recover the gifts that operated in that season. Return to the Person you loved.

“Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25 KJV). That is the heart God is after. Seek first “the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33 KJV), but do not turn even that promise into a bargain for “all these things.” Seek Him because He is worthy.

Fall in love with Jesus again. Talk with Him. Listen. Kneel if you can. Walk with Him. Ask questions. Stay long enough for the noise in your soul to settle. Desire spiritual gifts, but desire them as instruments of love. Let the secret place become secret again—not a backstage area where you prepare a public performance, but a place where you meet your Father.

The gifts may increase. They may become clearer as your senses are “exercised by reason of use” (Hebrews 5:14 KJV). God may reward openly what He formed secretly. Receive that with gratitude.

But never forget: the greatest reward of seeking God is God.

Three Things to Do This Week

1. Set apart an undistracted hour with no ministry agenda. Do not ask for a platform, a manifestation, or proof. Worship Jesus, read John 15 slowly, and listen.
2. Pray Psalm 139:23–24 over your motives. Write down anything the Holy Spirit exposes about ambition, comparison, recognition, or dependence on manifestations.
3. Use one gift quietly to love someone. Encourage, pray, give, serve, or share what God gives you without advertising yourself. Let the fruit point to Jesus.

If you want to read more of my testimony about learning to recognize the supernatural while staying anchored in the biblical Jesus, see OPEN YOUR EYES: MY SUPERNATURAL JOURNEY.

Dig deeper. Go higher. Let the gifts serve love—and keep the Gift Giver first.