It’s November 6; Good Morning Union
“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10
I was reading My Bible Friends to my grandchildren last night. At their age I have to do an abbreviated version so it’s more told in 2 minutes rather than read in 10 minutes but they do enjoy the pictures, and I enjoy having them on my lap!! So last night Jesus calmed the storm in record time and there was still time to quickly overview the story of Eli and Samuel. You probably remember the pictures!
Well, I had an ah-ha moment with a very familiar verse of scripture. After the second calling of God, priest Eli told Samuel, again, that it was not him that was calling so it must be God and when He calls again say, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” Samuel went back to his bed and lay- listening- listening—and then he heard it again, “Samuel!” And he did just as priest Eli told him. He said, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”
I summarized the theological implications in the stories as best I could for two tired little 18 month old minds and they were off to dream land. But I wasn’t. The verse stuck in my mind differently than it had ever done before. Last night it was not so much about obedience as it was attentiveness. It wasn’t Samuel’s quick and faithful response to what he thought were Eli’s beckonings, it was Samuel’s listening, intently, because he just might be hearing the voice of God. Maybe when he heard it again he was not giving God “permission” to speak, but telling God it was ok for Him to speak now, because HE WAS LISTENING!
The grandbabies might not have gotten it last night, but I did! And I stopped to ask myself if God is still willing to speak to me today, maybe audibly like He did with Samuel, maybe through His Word, maybe through circumstances or my conscience, and the prerequisite for me sorting it out, as it was for Samuel, is that I need to attentively LISTEN! I need to keep listening for the voice of God, by whatever means He chooses to use. I need to keep placing that priority above all others. I need to keep training myself to recognize His “voice” when He does speak. And I need to keep letting Him know, probably for my own sake, that I AM listening!
When I pray any more there are normally far less words than there used to be, there are FAR fewer requests than I used to make, there are little if any traditional platitudes of “proper” prayer. I spend much more time sharing my life with Him, telling Him I am listening, and then—LISTENING. What a concept!! I listen often times with paper and pen in hand (with my eyes open!), LISTENING, and “proving” to God (or actually probably to me) that I AM listening. It’s amazing, though I don’t know why I am amazed that He does what He says He will do, that I believe He still DOES speak, not when I command Him to speak, but when I am attentive to His willingness to speak.
So have a great day listening—attentively—to God who still speaks, (stories are over now so it’s time to go to bed!)
Pastor Rich