“Then. Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’ Then the Lord said to Samuel…” 1 Samuel 3:8-11
The Lord puts on my heart that He desires this season that we may hear His voice. If you know my story (see “I Knew His Voice”), you know how much these words mean to me.
It is such a special feeling of intensely deep joy to “hear God’s voice.”
The start of Samuel’s interaction with the Lord says, “now Samuel did not yet know the Lord” (v. 7).
Samuel became a great prophet of God, but even he started out without knowing God’s voice. When God called to Samuel, he ran three times to assist Eli. On this final time, Eli realized God was attempting to get Samuel’s attention and sent him back with instructions when God called again.
“You shall say, “speak Lord, your servant is listening.” (v. 9)
I am certainly no Eli or great prophet, but I would give you this same advice. Stop running around, go back to your private room (Matthew 6:6), stop and silently wait on the Lord. When you ‘hear’ His voice in your heart, say, “speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Don’t strike up a conversation or start rattling off your needs and desires, just stop and listen.
No, God may not share in audible words like He did with Samuel, but, He WILL speak.
God often ‘speaks’ to me, it has been years since I heard His voice but no doubt do I hear what He shares. Very often it is in a Bible verse, a word even that He speaks. It is in my journaled prayer, a prayer I’m writing but I see God is actually composing. Often I realize as I read something I’ve just written that it was God’s words shared for me. Even some of my posts on The Road of Faith are this way.
The key is not to be like Eli’s sons, hardening your heart and closing your ear because you look to worldly treasure. But, instead, open your ears to hear what God speaks. Even when what God shares may be uncomfortable.
“Come Holy Spirit, open my ears, I want to hear Your voice”
“O that today you would listen to his voice!
Do not harden your hearts” Psalm 95:8
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