Knowing When God Is Speaking

And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 1 Samuel 3:9 (New American Standard Bible)

How often I have felt like Samuel. God was speaking his name and desiring to tell him something and yet he had no idea God was the One speaking to him. Yet when he took the advice of Eli, the priest, and voiced the words, “Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening,” he clearly heard and understood what God was saying to him. After that point, I believe he had no trouble discerning when God was speaking to him. His ears remained open and his heart remained receptive to each message.

Who was the Eli in your life who taught you essential principles about hearing God’s voice? For most of my Christian life I embraced the idea that I speak to God in prayer and God speaks to me through His Word. Prayer was like speaking into a tape recorder…much like a one sided conversation. Hearing God meant reading His Word and seeing what He said to people thousands of years ago. Many times I felt like I was listening in on someone else’s conversation. Like Samuel, I didn’t know when God was speaking directly to me, unless it was for the purposes of condemnation and disapproval. I praise God for the person who wisely let me know prayer is a dialogue not a monologue, whereby I speak to God and then listen as God speaks to me.

While God definitely speaks through His Word, whether I am reading it, meditating on it, or hearing it from another person, He is not limited to only speaking through His Word, but what He says will always be in agreement with His Word. I have come to recognize God’s voice within my thoughts, for they are too profound to be my own. As I have learned to listen, I know that I know He is speaking to me.

How does He speak to me? In times when I have shared with Him my own feelings of worthlessness and insignificance He has clearly spoken to my spirit and said, “You matter to me.” In times when I don’t know what to do, He brings pointed direction to mind. When I don’t understand the buried issues of my heart He reveals the roots that are nourishing and holding in place wrong attitudes. Many are the times He brings scripture to mind or the words of a precious song. It may be during the hours I am at work or simply taking a much needed walk through neighborhoods close to my home. It may be in the night hours when tears fall freely and I can’t even speak the words to Him. Conversations abound now that I recognize His voice. They will for any who learn to listen with interest and attention.

Father, You were speaking to me long before I knew it was You. Thank you for awakening my ear to the sound of Your voice. Speak, Lord, I am listening. Amen.