A Psalm 27:4 kind of year

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked 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 gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. 

My prayer for 2016, and I hope it is yours too, is what is written in Psalm 27:4. As I was praying this morning the Lord brought to my remembrance this verse. I shared it recently on my Facebook page. But the Lord has given me much more understanding about this verse. 

The one thing we should ask for and seek after is to dwell in the presence of the Lord. His presence gives life, it gives wisdom, it gives peace, and a it gives us a whole lot of other things. If you had a transcript of your prayers, would seeking God's presence be amongst them? If not this could be the time to begin to ask the Lord for this. It's according to His will, so He will listen. In Jeremiah 29:13, the Lord says that when you seek Him with all your heart you will find Him. Seek Him out in prayer, in worship and reading His word. 

Next David says what He will seek is to dwell in the house of the Lord for all the rest of his life. In Isaiah 56:7, the Lord says that His house is a house of prayer. God will not turn away anyone who desires to worship Him regardless of where they are from. His house is a place where everyone can come to pray. The Lord also says that He will make those who join themselves to the Lord, keep from defiling the Sabbath and hold fast to His covenants (verse 6), God will make them joyful. 

The last sentence says "to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple." A man by the name of Don Stewart hit the nail right on the when he said this "The beauty of the Lord means that, in his nature, the Lord possesses everything that is desirable. His character is one of perfection. Consequently believers are to desire Him above all. If we delight ourselves in Him He promises to give us the desire of our heart. This desire will be the Lord himself. Believers are commanded to reflect God's beauty in their conduct." Wow, well said sir! 

To inquire in His temple always threw me off. So I looked up the meaning of the word "inquire". It means to seek information and to ask questions. So in other words, to seek wisdom and knowledge in the temple of the Lord. It's okay to ask questions. God has the answers. Nothing is too hard or impossible for Him. What an awesome God we worship!