Your priorities are backwards, and you know it!
God gets whatever time is left after work, family, hobbies, social media, and everything else you’ve squeezed into your schedule. You pray when you’re desperate, read the Bible when you feel guilty, and serve when it’s convenient.
Meanwhile, you’re stressed, anxious, and constantly chasing things that never satisfy. You’re building a life that looks successful on the outside but feels empty on the inside because you’ve put God’s kingdom somewhere near the bottom of your priority list.
Seeking God’s kingdom first isn’t about abandoning your responsibilities or ignoring practical needs. It’s about reordering your life so that God’s will, God’s ways, and God’s purposes drive every decision you make.
When you seek His kingdom first, everything else falls into proper perspective. The things you were desperately chasing either come to you or stop mattering so much.
These verses reveal that putting God first unlocks provision, peace, and purpose that hustling for everything else never could. The life you actually want starts with seeking the kingdom you’ve been neglecting.
Bible Verses About Seeking God’s Kingdom First
1. Matthew 6:33 – Seek First His Kingdom
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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2. Deuteronomy 4:29 – If You Seek the Lord Your God, You Will Find Him
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.
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3. Psalm 37:4 – Take Delight in the Lord
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
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4. Jeremiah 29:13 – You Will Seek Me and Find Me
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
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5. Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
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6. 1 Chronicles 16:11 – Look to the Lord and His Strength
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
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7. Matthew 6:31-32 – Your Heavenly Father Knows That You Need Them
So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
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8. Colossians 3:1-2 – Set Your Minds on Things Above
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.
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9. Psalm 63:1 – You, God, Are My God, Earnestly I Seek You
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.
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10. Amos 5:4 – Seek Me and Live
This is what the Lord says to Israel: “Seek me and live.”
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11. Luke 12:31 – Seek His Kingdom
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
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12. Hebrews 11:6 – He Rewards Those Who Earnestly Seek Him
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.
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13. Psalm 27:4 – One Thing I Ask From the Lord
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.
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14. 2 Chronicles 7:14 – If My People Will Humble Themselves
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
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15. Proverbs 8:17 – Those Who Seek Me Find Me
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.
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16. Isaiah 55:6 – Seek the Lord While He May Be Found
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
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17. Psalm 105:4 – Seek the Lord and His Strength
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
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18. Lamentations 3:25 – The Lord Is Good to Those Whose Hope Is in Him
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.
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19. Romans 14:17 – The Kingdom of God Is Not a Matter of Eating and Drinking
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
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20. Matthew 6:24 – You Cannot Serve Both God and Money
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
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21. Psalm 119:2 – Blessed Are Those Who Seek Him
Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
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22. Acts 17:27 – God Did This So That They Would Seek Him
God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
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23. 1 Kings 3:13 – I Will Give You What You Have Not Asked For
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.
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24. Haggai 1:5-7 – Give Careful Thought to Your Ways
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”
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25. Psalm 34:10 – Those Who Seek the Lord Lack No Good Thing
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
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26. John 6:27 – Do Not Work for Food That Spoils
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.
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27. Zephaniah 2:3 – Seek the Lord, All You Humble
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.
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28. Matthew 6:19-21 – Store Up for Yourselves Treasures in Heaven
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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29. Hosea 10:12 – It Is Time to Seek the Lord
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you.
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30. Psalm 42:1-2 – My Soul Thirsts for God
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
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31. 1 Corinthians 10:31 – Do It All for the Glory of God
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
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32. Psalm 27:8 – My Heart Says, “Seek His Face!”
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
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33. Luke 9:23-24 – Whoever Wants to Be My Disciple
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
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34. James 4:8 – Come Near to God and He Will Come Near to You
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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35. Philippians 3:8 – I Consider Everything a Loss
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.
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Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Seeking God’s Kingdom First
Seeking God’s kingdom first is the most practical thing you can do, even though it sounds spiritual and abstract. It means asking in every decision, every relationship, every opportunity: what does God want here? What advances His kingdom? What aligns with His will? When that becomes your filter, everything changes.
You stop chasing things that don’t matter and start investing in things that do. You stop stressing about provision because you’re trusting the One who promised to take care of everything else when you put Him first.
The promise attached to seeking God’s kingdom first is radical: all these things will be given to you as well. Not some things. All things. The food, clothing, security, provisions, and everything you’re anxiously pursuing will be added when you reorder your priorities. This isn’t magic. It’s trust.
When you genuinely seek God’s kingdom first, you’re positioning yourself under His care, His guidance, and His provision. You’re trading your anxiety for His peace, your striving for His rest, and your limited resources for His unlimited supply. The life you’ve been hustling for comes more easily when you stop making it your priority and start making God your priority instead.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I’ve had my priorities backwards for too long. I’ve been seeking everything else first and giving You whatever’s left over. I’ve been anxious about provision, stressed about the future, and exhausted from trying to make everything work on my own. I’m ready to reorder my life around Your kingdom.
Help me to seek You first in every decision, every day, every moment. Show me what it actually looks like to put Your kingdom above my comfort, Your will above my plans, and Your glory above my reputation. Teach me to trust that when I seek You first, You’ll take care of everything else.
Break my attachment to things that don’t matter. Give me a hunger for Your presence that’s stronger than my desire for anything else. Help me to delight in You so that the desires of my heart align with Yours.
I’m choosing today to seek Your kingdom first, to trust Your provision, and to live for what matters eternally instead of what matters temporarily. Lead me, guide me, and provide for me as I put You first.
In Jesus’ Glorious Name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.