1 Samuel 3:19 “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.”
At the end of each day when my 6-year-old grandson gets home from school, his mom asks the most consequential of questions, “Were you a good listener today?” He’s learning his answer determines how the rest of his day will go.
Listening is important. Especially listening to God. And like with my grandson, our response to God’s directives brings profound consequences. Every follower of Christ should desire to hear him speak.
But listening to God can be tricky. Scripture says we “know in part and prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9). None of us have the whole picture. But isn’t it better to strive for the part than shelve the idea that God wants to speak to his children? We are human and sometimes we mishear. But that’s not reason enough to dismiss one of life’s richest opportunities.
When the Lord first spoke to Samuel as a young boy, he didn’t recognize his voice. It took some instruction from Eli to help him learn how to listen. But eventually he got it. And did he ever! The book of 1 Samuel describes his precision in relaying what he heard from the Lord. Not one of his prophesies failed to happen. Samuel proved to be a listening prophet extraordinaire.
Today hearing God speak is not confined to “prophets.” Each of us who have the Holy Spirit living within have access to his voice. We can all become good listeners. So how do we develop that pattern?
I think we begin the same way Samuel did. We cry, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). We approach each day with a heart to hear. And we resist all the clamor around us that seeks to drown out his voice. It takes intention. Some days my mind keeps circling back to grief. Or worries. Or even shopping lists. Those are the days when I have to confess, like my grandson, that I haven’t been a good listener.
But God wants us to get it. He offers us another day, another opportunity, to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” He faithfully speaks. Will we faithfully listen?