GodSprings - February 16, 2016

Do I Have The Art of Listening?

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV)

The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Not quite knowing what to say, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming."

Are we a good listener? Better yet, are we a good listener, hearing God speak to us?

Samuel had grown up in the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among His people. He had been serving in the tabernacle from a very young age, but he did not yet have a personal relationship with God, until one night when he was just twelve years old and God called out to him. Initially mistaking the voice of God for that of Eli the priest, who was also Samuel’s guardian, Samuel eventually responded to God’s voice with a ready ear and an attentive heart. During this encounter with God, Samuel began his lifelong journey as a follower, a servant, and a prophet of God as he responded to God’s call.

God wants a relationship with every person, and subsequently, as He did with Samuel, God calls out to each person in a distinct and personal way. Yet, despite the methodology by which God gets our attention, hearing God speak begins with responding to His call.

The Word of God may come differently to each of us. For example, some may hear a sermon and respond to God’s call. Others may respond to God’s voice through a conversation with a friend or by reading a book.

Erwin McManus, in his book The Barbarian Way shares the following story about his son.

My son, Aaron, was five or six when he began asking me, "What does God's voice sound like?" I didn't know how to answer.

A few years later, Aaron went off to his first junior high camp. In the middle of the week, I went up with another pastor at Mosaic to see our kids. Aaron, I learned, had started to assault another kid but had been held back by his friends. He was unrepentant, wanted to leave camp, pulled together his stuff, and shoved it into the car.

I asked him for a last talk with me before we drove away. We sat on two large rocks in the middle of the woods. "Aaron," I asked, "is there any voice inside you telling you what you should do?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"What's the voice telling you?"

"That I should stay and work it out."

"Can you identify that voice?"

"Yes," he said immediately, "It's God." It was the moment I'd waited for.

"Aaron," I said, "do you realize what just happened? You heard God's voice. He spoke to you from within your soul. Forget everything else that's happened. God spoke to you, and you were able to recognize him."

I will never forget Aaron's dug-in response: "Well, I'm still not doing what God said."

Have we ever felt a conviction regarding a particular sin? If so, we have heard God’s voice. As we read the Bible, has a passage ever spoken to a situation we were facing? What did the Lord say to us through His Word? How has Scripture given us guidance, comfort, or insight regarding a circumstance in our life?

Once we respond to God’s call into a personal relationship with Him, we can be certain that our communication with God has just begun. Are we ready to respond “Speak,  for your servant is listening?”