Seeking The Lord’s Voice Through His Word

-June 14. 2022-

Good morning, happy Tuesday,

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, ‘Samuel, Samuel!’ And Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears.’”

(1 Samuel 3:9-10).

At this time Samuel was just a young child. Hannah, his mother brought him to the tabernacle, not for a visit but to live there with Eli the priest. She had earnestly prayed for a son, and she promised to “lend him to the Lord.” After she weaned him, she brought him. She would visit each year at the time of the yearly sacrifice. She even made him clothes to wear. He was dedicated to the Lord as a Nazarite from his birth. He grew up and he became the last judge and the first prophet of Israel. In fact, he was a prophet, a priest, and a judge. Only Jesus was only other person robe all three. Samuel became a great man of God. But at this point, he was just a young boy.

As a young boy, God had not yet spoken to him. 1 Samuel 3:1 says, “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” It also tells us is in 1 Samuel 3:7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.” Everything was so new to him. The Lord called to him three times, and each time he heard the Lord’s voice, but he thought that Eli was calling him.

Eli was an old man at this time, and after the third time, he perceived that the Lord was speaking to young Samuel. He tells him to wait for the Lord to call him, and to say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” Sure enough the Lord speaks and Samuel repeats these words that Eli told him to say. God spoke to him about Eli, the wickedness of his two sons Hophni and Phinehas, and the fact that Eli had not restrained them for their sin. God had already expressed His displeasure to Eli over this matter. These sons were greedy and immoral; He had failed to deal with them properly.

We are so blessed to be living in the age of grace, after the cross. We have the Bible, God’s revelation from Genesis to Revelation. He speaks to us through the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit. It is such a blessing and so encouraging to hear His voice, though not audibly as Samuel and the prophets of old did, but in His still small voice to our hearts. He directs us just what we need to hear each day. It may be a promise, a commandment, or some application of truth to our lives in what we are going through at the time.

Our prayer should be, “Lord, please speak to my heart today, and teach me and show what I need to hear today.” God is always so faithful. The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I might see wondrous things from Your law.” The songwriter wrote, “Open my eyes, Lord, I want to see Jesus, to reach out and touch Him and say that I love Him. Open my ears, Lord, help me to listen, open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus.” Jesus is in all the Scriptures, and we are blessed to see, hear, and learn of Him.

May the Lord speak to our hearts through His Word today. We must be still before Him so He can speak to us. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean