PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: 1 Samuel 3-4
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 10:10).
Samuel heard the voice (word) of the Lord, but he did not recognize it.
In those days it was rare for people to hear a message from God (3:1).
Is that because they, like Samuel, did not know how to hear God?
We read that Samuel did not yet know the Lord (3:7)… was he not taught?
My sense is that the Lord was speaking, but the people were not hearing.
They were not open to hearing from the Lord, and not praying to the Lord either.
Is “the word of the Lord” also rare in our day too?
Not that the Lord is not speaking, but that the people are not hearing?
Jesus promised that He would send the Spirit to teach and guide us (John 14:26).
Scripture is one important way the Spirit of Jesus speaks to us (2 Timothy 3:15-16).
But Jesus also speaks to our spirits through others, and through life experiences.
The question is, am I listening, am I taking the time to hear what He is saying?
Don’t just read the bible and walk away; spend time with Jesus and say to Him:
“Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 10:10).
PRAYER
Lord, I don’t just want to read a book, I want to hear Your voice. Speak to me in a way I can understand. Teach, rebuke, correct and train me, that I may be thoroughly equipped as Your follower.
God in a box? Like the nations around them, the soldiers thought they could force God to give them victory. The Ark was holy -it represented a way to connect with God and it contained the covenant -the law- by which they were to live and through obedience they would be blessed. Samuel was called and he connected with God – God was real and very much present – not confined to a box. Do I try to box God and ask him to do what I want Him to do – are my prayers like that? Can I see instead how my prayers and the fellowship of the HS are means to connect with God and help me see His way – to be comforted and to bless.
Open eyes.
Open ears.
Open heart.
I need to be receptive to His voice and the working of His Spirit. By my words and deeds others need to see that I am a child of the King – a kid of the Kingdom.
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.
2
O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
3
O strengthen me, that while I stand
Firm on the rock, and strong in Thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand
To wrestlers with the troubled sea.
4
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.