It’s hard to believe a new year is already upon us! It’s the perfect time for reflection—a time for looking back as well
as looking forward. Tis the season of hopes, dreams, resolutions and as a christian—prayers.
If someone were to ask you today, “What is your biggest request at God’s throne as we begin 2022?”, what would
you say? What pops into your mind as being THE THING—what you desire most?
Your answer to this question says a great deal about you—it reveals much about what you believe is most important.
We all have a litany of desires as well as basic needs. However, deep down, there is something that you believe will
fulfill the deepest hunger in your heart—something you think will satisfy you and bring you contentment, fulfillment,
and peace.
Of course, many of the things we often seek just can’t get the job done. We can reach the goals we have set only to
suffer the crushing disappointment that comes when we discover they weren’t able to deliver. We run after many things
that just don’t satisfy in the way we had hoped. Even worse, we can spend our whole lives chasing after something that
will actually destroy us. “There is way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
Because we will never find rest, peace and abundant life apart from seeking the right “ONE THING, “ we’d better be
CRYSTAL CLEAR what it is. If we aren’t, when we approach God’s throne, we will “ask amiss”.

When Jesus was asked what the most important thing was, He was very clear:
“You shall love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37).
Many other scriptures reinforce this pursuit of God as the highest priority:
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
“…what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to love him, to serve
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12)
Great Christians throughout church history have also echoed the same principle.
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.’” (St. Augustine)
“The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

This is the ONE THING we should seek above all else. David, a man after God’s own heart, modeled this for us:
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
It is key to realize that when David wrote this psalm, he was surrounded by enemies.
He was in great distress in the circumstances of his life, and yet his primary (CHIEF) request was not for God to
destroy his enemies, but more importantly, for God to allow Him MORE ACCESS—MORE CLOSENESS.
He wanted MOST to seek God, dwell with Him, and gaze on His beauty for the rest of his days.
David was literally OBSESSED with drawing near to God, because he knew it was HERE alone that he would find
refreshment and rest.
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)
“In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength…” (Isaiah 45:24)
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1)
He knew that if his first priority was intimacy with God, EVERYTHING ELSE he needed would come. He realized that
peace, strength, deliverance and all necessary provision would flow freely as long as He kept His focus on God.
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:5)
“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8)
“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36:7-9)
As we start this new year, let us come to see the importance of developing a close relationship with God through
our prayer life as a PRIORITY. Let us pray for God to open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to this crucial truth—
Intimacy with God should be our “ONE THING.”
Indeed, it is from this very place of intimacy, where we are abiding with Him (living securely as branches on His
glorious vine), that our prayers will be able to MOVE MOUNTAINS. (John 15:5-7)
Think about it. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much
fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.“ (John 15:5) We often think of this verse as it relates to working through His
power in us and not through the flesh, and this is true and very important, but we need to see how it all fits together.
When we do, we see that it is this closeness that empowers our fruitfulness in every way, especially in our prayer life!
After all, just 3 verses later, Jesus says something absolutely incredible: “If you remain in me and my words remain
in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
As for me, this is one of those verses that blows my mind and makes me realize I am in pre-school about certain
things. I have not yet tapped in completely to what is available, not by a long shot, but one thing is sure: I WANT TO,
and I’m closer today than I used to be.
Even a taste of true intimacy with God has been enough to make me want more and more. What about you?
Overall, we need to see that God surely delights in answering the prayers of His children, but He knows that what
we actually need the MOST is Him. The highest and best God can give us is Himself.
When we have Him, we have everything. And He, in turn, wants ALL OF US.
If we seek HIM above all else, allowing Him to draw us close and dwell with us, we will absolutely live as we were
intended to live—with yielded, whole, joyful hearts, basking in God’s perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3) (Psalm 16:11)
May the Lord help each of us to approach His throne with a heart that longs for THIS ONE THING—closeness to Him.