Eli had gone to bed. The lamp of the Lord was left still burning in the temple of the Lord and it had not gone out yet. Samuel, in bed for the night, heard someone calling his name, "Samuel!" He went to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." Eli told him to go back to bed, he had not called him.
Samuel returned to bed, only to hear his name called again, "Samuel!" He jumped up out of bed and ran again to Eli. Eli again said, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to bed."
Samuel, like many believers today, had not heard God's voice before, and did not realize God was speaking to him.
Again, after returning to bed, he heard his name called, "Samuel!" The only person around was Eli, it must have been him who called. Samuel ran a third time to Eli, "Here I am, did you call me?"
This time Eli realized the Lord was calling Samuel. He instructed Samuel how to respond to God calling His name.
Samuel returned to bed, only to hear his name called again, "Samuel!" He jumped up out of bed and ran again to Eli. Eli again said, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to bed."
Samuel, like many believers today, had not heard God's voice before, and did not realize God was speaking to him.
Again, after returning to bed, he heard his name called, "Samuel!" The only person around was Eli, it must have been him who called. Samuel ran a third time to Eli, "Here I am, did you call me?"
This time Eli realized the Lord was calling Samuel. He instructed Samuel how to respond to God calling His name.
God speaks. Are we listening? Do we recognize His voice?
Some may say, "But, that was Samuel in bible times, not me, today?"
Romans 8:14 says: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
Jesus said in John 10:3-4, His "sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice."
God speaks to us. We can hear His voice.
"But, I don't hear God speak. He never speaks to me." you may say.
He speaks to all His sheep, all His children. Are you listening?
Here in Asia our internet connections go out on an almost daily basis. The signal in hindered, causing the internet to run extremely slow for a while. It is usually our box receiving the internet that is the problem. The boxes they use here are older versions and tend to not perform well. When the internet is out, I do not doubt that we have internet, and that the signal is being received. I know it is. If I go outside and reset the box, within a few minutes the internet is working properly.
The same is true of hearing God. In the scriptures above, God has said He leads us by His Spirit and has given us the ability to hear His voice. When God is not heard, it is the receiver that needs adjusting or resetting, not the signal (God).
Why then, do we not hear God speaking?
1. Doubt is the number one reason. If you do not believe He is speaking, you will not listen for His voice.
2. Priorities we have set in life keep us from paying attention to His voice. We do not take the time to listen. Or, we are talking so much, we forgot to stop and listen.
3. Some do not know how to listen to God. They want to use their natural ears to hear Him spiritually. "We were created to hear His voice "through the hidden man of the heart" (1 Peter 3:4). This is our inner, spirit man. The spirit man that was made new the day we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.Our spirit man is the very center of our being, the core. It is joined to the Spirit of God.
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| Photo credit: http://heartofworship.typepad.com/ heartofworship/2009/10/ listening-to-gods-voice.html |
God Word tells us how to learn to hear God's voice: Through the scriptures, the written Word of God. God's Word contains His voice in a very in a tangible, discernible, detectable, and evident form.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart."
The more you read His Word (Hear His voice) you will get to know it. Much like a child knows his parents voice when they call (even in a crowd of people), you will get to know the Father's voice and recognize it when He speaks.
Getting to know His voice as a child knows his mother's voice requires spending more than a few minutes here and there in His Word. A relationship must develop through time. As the relationship brings you closer to God you will know His voice.
The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines the verb HEAR: to perceive or apprehend by the ear, to gain knowledge of by hearing, to listen to with attention.
Knowing God's voice requires spending time with God, HEARING the His Word, and developing a relationship with Him. Read God's Word deliberately listening to His voice. In the beginning, as you develop your spiritual ear, God will show you simple truths from His Word. He will show you who He is, what Christ did for you, and Who you are in Christ.
The more you spend time with Him in His Word, you will come to know His voice as a child knows His parents voice, even in the midst of a crowd. You will begin to trust His voice, and you will know what the Spirit of God is telling you.
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63
Today's passage for prayer and meditation is ! Samuel 3:1-15.
1Sa 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place,
and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
1Sa 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
1Sa 3:4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
1Sa 3:5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
1Sa 3:6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
1Sa 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
1Sa 3:8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.
1Sa 3:9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
1Sa 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
1Sa 3:11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
1Sa 3:12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
1Sa 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
1Sa 3:14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
1Sa 3:15
And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
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