While in Seminary I had a Professor that told us our purpose in life was simple… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Technically it is that simple, I guess. Yet, I want to know more than that. I want to live a life that matters not just to me, but to God and His Kingdom. So the question that I must ask is “What is my purpose? The one written just for me.” If you are like me and you struggle with that answer then there is a second question that we must ask. “How do I figure out my purpose?” Well the answer comes in the very next verse. Let’s read Jeremiah 29:12. “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.” Now, you may be saying, “that verse doesn’t say anything about purpose.” That is true. The truth to finding out your purpose lies in verse 12. Let’s focus on the first part.

God wants us to call upon Him. In the Hebrew that phrase “call upon” means to

“cry out, call, to name, to proclaim, pronounce, preach…Essentially denotes the enunciation of a specific message which is usually addressed to a specific recipient and intended to elicit a specific response.”

So, if you want a specific answer to a specific question call upon God! Call Him by name. If you are in need of His wisdom refer to him as the Omniscient One, if you are in need of His forgiveness, call out to the Merciful God. If you have would like to learn more about the Hebrew names of God check out Mary Kassian’s book Knowing God by Name. It will change the way you speak to Him.

When you call upon God, be specific in your request. Begin by honoring Him with praise and thanksgiving, but then spend some time pouring out your heart to Him and get specific. You can ask for His blessing, but why not share in which area of life you really want to see Him work. Be warned you may have to wait to get an answer, but don’t stop praying until He answers. Matthew 7:7 says to “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” In other words keep searching, Keep praying, don’t stop until you get an answer. Even if God’s Will and your’s don’t match up at least you will know that you have sought His Will and then you have the opportunity to align yourself with Him. Call upon the God who has the answers to your questions.