15 Bible Verses About Seeking God First
Fifteen Scriptures about seeking God first — from Matthew 6:33 to the Psalms — with a short reflection on each and a simple way to carry them through your week.
The invitation to seek God runs through the whole Bible, from Moses to the Psalms to the Sermon on the Mount. Again and again the promise attached is the same: those who seek him find him. Here are fifteen of those Scriptures, with a short reflection on each.
Seeking God first
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
The verse this movement is named after. Jesus speaks it to worried people, and the answer to worry is not a better plan but a better first priority.
“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
Luke 12:31
Luke's version comes right after Jesus points to ravens and lilies. The Father who feeds birds knows what you need.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:1–2
Seeking first is a matter of where the heart is set. Paul tells us to set it deliberately, like a compass, every day.
Seeking God with all your heart
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
Spoken to exiles far from home. Distance and failure do not cancel the promise; half-heartedness is the only thing it names.
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 4:29
Notice the words from there. Wherever you are right now is a valid starting place.
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
Psalm 63:1
David wrote this in the wilderness. Seeking God is often loudest when life feels driest.
“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
One thing. A king with every option chose a single desire above the rest.
The promise to those who seek
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7
In the Greek these are ongoing actions: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Persistence is part of the promise.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6
God is not indifferent to seekers. He rewards them, and the greatest reward is himself.
“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
Psalm 34:10
Even the strongest predators go hungry. Those who seek God are provided for in the ways that truly matter.
“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.”
Lamentations 3:25
Written in the rubble of a destroyed city. The goodness of God is not a fair-weather truth.
Seeking God every day
“Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.”
1 Chronicles 16:11
Always, not occasionally. Seeking is meant to be a rhythm, not an emergency measure.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”
Isaiah 55:6
An invitation with urgency. Today is the day to respond, not someday.
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
Philippians 3:8
Paul had status, education, and reputation. Next to knowing Jesus, he counted all of it as loss.
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Psalm 119:105
We seek God most reliably where he has spoken most clearly: in his word.
How to carry these through your week
- Pick one verse per week and write it where you will see it first each morning.
- Pray it back to God in your own words before you check your phone.
- Ask one question each evening: where did I seek him first today, and where did I not?
- Share the verse with one person who needs it this week.
Seeking God first is not one big decision made once. It is a thousand small returns, every day, to the One who promised to be found.
In short
Quick answers
- What Bible verse says to seek God first?
- Matthew 6:33 is the best-known: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Luke 12:31 records the same teaching, and Colossians 3:1–2 calls believers to set their hearts on things above.
- What does the Bible promise to those who seek God?
- That they will find him. Jeremiah 29:13 promises God is found by those who seek him with all their heart, Hebrews 11:6 says he rewards those who earnestly seek him, and Psalm 34:10 says those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
- How can I seek God every day?
- Build a small daily rhythm: read a verse before your phone, pray it back to God in your own words, and choose one faithful action for the day. Scripture calls us to seek his face always, so consistency matters more than length.