God's voice

"The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli.  In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.  One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.  Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, "Here I am."  And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."  

But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."  So he went and lay down.

Again the Lord called, "Samuel!"  And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."

"My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord:  The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

A third time the Lord called, "Samuel!"  And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.  So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'"  So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel!  Samuel!"

Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."

If you're a mother, you will most certainly relate to this.  If you were ever the child of a mother or father, you will also find this scenario familiar.  How often are our children playing in another room and we call to them repeatedly, only to hear crickets on the other end?  We have to call for them several times, with a booming voice, for our presence to even register on their radar. 

Such is it, often, when God calls us.  Our ears are not attuned to his calling, and we miss out on hearing his voice.  We walk around claiming that God is silent, and some go as far as to say that God has neglected or forgotten about them.  Yet, when we draw near to God through scripture and prayer and ask to hear his voice, he is most often faithful in his communication with us.  We just have to turn the dial to the right station to get reception.

We, as Christians, have to pray for discernment.  God uses many avenues of communication to reach us.  He might use scripture, prayer, or those around us to relay his will to us.  There may be circumstances when, unbeknownst to the other person, they have the exact words you needed to hear in response to a prayer.  When we pray for the ears and the wisdom to recognize which medium he uses to speak to us, it becomes much clearer.

Ask God to reveal to you the ways in which he communicates with you, and you'll soon learn to open your mind and heart to hearing his voice.  You'll be listening much more intently when you know how to listen. 

We may never be so successful in reaching our children lost in play.  However, we can be assured that, as children of our Father, if we listen with the right ears, we will eventually hear his voice.  It may not be on our time, or what we want to hear, but we will hear the will of God from the voice of God.

"My son, if your receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." - Proverbs 2:1-5