Just the other day, my son, Aidan, walked into the room and boldly announced, “Dad, I’m not coming into this room to talk. I just need something from you.” Literally. That’s what he said. And I just sat there for a minute astonished that he clearly saw nothing wrong with his statement at all. In his mind, he really was just trying to explain how he wanted all of this to go down. Clearly, we still have a couple of things to work on with him!

But there was also something disarming and almost endearing to his boldness. And I definitely wasn’t mad at him. If anything, I was convicted. Not about how I talk with other people but about how I talk with God. Granted, I would never start a time of prayer by saying, “God, I’m not here to talk with you. I just need something.” But, all too often, that’s my attitude. I’m not here to spend time with you, God. I’m here to get You to do some things. That’s why Psalm 105 has become so important in my prayer life.

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

Psalm 105:4

Yes, seek the Lord and His strength. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help and for power but that’s the part that comes easily to us. The real beauty of prayer is found when we press beyond that to simply enjoy being in the presence of God. Don’t settle for strength when God is offering presence.

In a lot of ways, the two are very closely related. If anything, strength from God is found in the presence of God. Sometimes we think prayer works like the drive up window at Starbucks – we pull off the road of life for a minute, order what we need to make it through the day, and pick up our answer in just a few minutes. We want God to serve up His strength and power on demand. I’m not here to talk. I just need something. But we’ll never find the strength we need without the presence we were created to enjoy.

By the way, we should be thrilled, not disappointed, that the two are inseparably linked. If God were to give us all the strength we need but never invite us into His presence, He would only be giving us second best. To want God’s strength without God’s presence is to rob ourselves of what’s best. Yes, I got Aidan his milk but he missed out on what could have been some great moments with his father. At the time, he was just fine with that. But, ultimately, his life will be far richer because of moments with his father, not cups of milk. I wonder how often we shortchange ourselves in prayer. Yes, God will still help us through the meeting but we miss out on the blessing of just being with him.

Obviously, I’m sharing this to encourage all of us to seek God’s presence with even more intensity than we seek God’s strength. In thinking about that, I was struck by one more thought. I didn’t love Aidan any less for his inartful approach. I still wanted to spend time with him. I still wanted him to spend time with me. It’s the grace that should flow naturally between fathers and sons. And it is the grace the flows naturally between our Heavenly Father and His adopted sons and daughters.

Seeking God’s presence isn’t a roadmap to seeking God’s strength. Seeking God’s presence is the fruit of comprehending “with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.” (Ephesians 3:18-19) The more we comprehend God’s love for us, the more we’ll be filled with a desire for his presence, and the richer our lives will be.