Listening for God’s Call

Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash.

Do you hear God when he speaks to you? Are you listening to what God is calling you to do?

It has been said that “God is always speaking.” However, we do not always hear God when he speaks or listen to what God is saying to us or asking us to do.

This was the case with the boy Samuel. God was speaking in a time when God was not being heard. The Judges were ruling the land of Israel and people were sinful and far from obediently following and listening to God and God’s laws.

The First Book of Samuel says, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli (the priest in the Tabernacle). And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” (1 Samuel 3:1, ESV).

When God spoke to Samuel, he did not understand that it was God speaking, because Samuel was not taught to listen to the word of the Lord, and he had not experienced God’s voice and calling. When God spoke, Samuel thought it was Eli speaking and not God.

The scriptures tell us, “Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down.” (1 Samuel 3:4-5, ESV).

Three times this scenario played out before Eli caught on that God was speaking to the boy Samuel.

“And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ 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 hears.’’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” (1 Samuel 3:8-9, ESV).

If we are to hear from God, we must listen for God. If we are going to hear God’s call, we must anticipate that God is speaking, and will speak. The more common it is for us to listen and to anticipate God speaking, the more often we will hear God speaking. Like the boy Samuel, we are to simply say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’

May we listen for God’s call in our lives and anticipate that God is speaking ‘by the word of the Lord,’ as when “the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.” (1 Samuel 3:21, ESV).

A Collect for The Second Sunday of Epiphany: “Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Book of Common Prayer, 2019).

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Photo by Alexander Andrews, from Unsplash. More photography can be found here: https://unsplash.com/photos/black-corded-telephone-JYGnB9gTCls