Are You Listening?

ARE YOU LISTENING?from the book 101 MOST POWERFUL PRAYERS IN THE BIBLEby Steve & Lois Rabey, General Editors, and Claire CloningerSpeak, Lord, for your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3:9In the 3rd chapter of 1 Samuel, we learn that "in those days the word of the Lord was rare; and there were not many visions" (verse 1). It kind of makes me wonder. Which came first - the fact that God wasn't saying a lot or the fact that people weren't listening? Which came first - the fact that people weren't looking for God or the fact that visions were rare?God is a person like us, and I don't know about you, but when I know I'm not being listened to, I tend to clam up a little. When I know that no one cards whether I show up or not, I tend not to show up.And yet the young boy, Samuel, heard the voice of the Lord when Eli, the temple priest, did not. Did you ever wonder why? The answer to that question, I believe, is that Eli was tuned out and Samuel was tuned in. Samuel was listening.Samuel heard an audible voice and jumped up to answer that voice. "Speak, Lord," he said, "for your servant is listening."Is the Lord getting through to you these days? Is there an inner voice calling you? Do you know that voice? Do you recognize it? Are you responding with a ready answer, or are you rolling over in bed and going back to sleep?It's so easy, so tempting, to ignore the voice that's calling. And yet it's important to realize that the more we do that, the more difficult it will become to hear that voice next time.Because Samuel listened to the Lord, his power to hear and respond grew stronger. We are told in 1 Samuel 3:19 that "the Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground." Samuel was not always popular with the people, but he always spoke what he heard the Lord saying in his spirit.Are you listening for the voice of God in your spirit, the voice that brings God into every decision? As long as you are listening, he will speak. As long as your heart is tuned into his frequency, you can depend on him to touch you with his words of reason and his hand of wisdom.In my prayer time, I often write in my journal about a place of indecision. And after that I write, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Then after listening prayerfully, I often heard him do just that.Prayer: Oh, Lord, I thank you that you still desire to speak to us. Stir up in me a desire to listen. Quiet me in your presence. Quiet the voice of my own will so that I can hear your still, small voice. I love you, Lord. I long to hear from you. Amen.