“What can you ask God that will help you be more complete?” This was the question posed to me in a friend’s blog recently. As I considered my everyday life, it occurred to me that I already have everything I need in Jesus for a complete life…and, on a theological level that is true. However, in reality, there is still much that is incomplete in me. I have unmet goals and aspirations. I have things that go undone each day. There are relationships that go unattended and projects that have to stay on the back-burner.

The aforementioned blog lovingly revealed to me that perhaps the reason so much of who I am and what I do is incomplete, is because I am not living a “rhythmed life.” A rhythmed life is one that brings spiritual disciplines into our daily activities in such a way that God is noticeably present in all of our moments. It is life that is embedded continually in the Presence of the Living God…the One who brings completion to the life of every believer. The completeness we seek cannot be found in one compartmentalized moment of our day when we focus on God and then go about the other activities of life unaware that He is active around, in and through us. Relegating the Lord of the Universe to one corner of our daily journey can be equated to living out of balance…and therefore, in a state of incompleteness.

If we engage the original question at an even deeper level, perhaps it changes a bit. It isn’t just that I need God to help me become more complete in my life…the real question should focus on how I can obediently live in such a way that I become more complete in Jesus. I believe King David recognized the need for completeness in God at the very core of his being. He shared the heartcry of his life with us in Psalm 27:4:

One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
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 seek him in his temple.

This prayer is not a request to make of God without a great deal of thought and intentionality. ONE THING! It seems I have so many things to ask God. Is this truly the “one thing” that I seek the most from Him? Is this lip service to what should be, or is this really the cry of my heart to become more complete in Him for the sake of His kingdom rather than my own? Am I ready to make the commitment that this prayer implies? What does it mean to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life? How, when I am so busy can I make space in my life and in my heart to simply gaze upon His beauty? His temple is…me! How do I seek Him within myself persistently?  This is what prayer as everyday life is! It is a continual awareness of the Christ, living within me. The answer to the question is deeper than many of us may wish to go…but to be whole in Christ Jesus is to seek after the one thing in order to become all He has designed us to be – fully complete – nothing missing.

Here is my prayer…the question I most wish to ask God so that He will complete the good work He has begun in me: Father, as Your heart beats within me, may I dwell in Your house all the days of my life, gaze upon Your beauty and seek You continually within the moments of my everyday life?

This is a journey with the Holy Spirit that will be different for each of us. Perhaps your question is different; however, Psalm 27:4 has become the major question I have begun to ask of God in order to live a life of completeness in Him.

(c) Harvest Prayer Ministries