“Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”” 1 Samuel 3:10 AMP
Often, like Samuel, if you read the verses that precede this one, God can be speaking and we’re not really listening. We might read or hear words from the Bible but we don’t compute that He’s trying to get our attention or that it’s God speaking to us! You know, there is a vast difference between hearing and listening. The dictionary defines hearing as the ‘process, function, or power of perceiving sound.’ Listening, on the other hand, means ‘to pay attention to sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention; and to give consideration.’ Hearing is passive, listening is active, hearing is physiological, listening is psychological. Samuel was advised by Eli to pay attention, to pray, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening!’ In other words, ‘Whatever You want to say to me Lord, I’m alert and ready, not just to hear it, but to relate to it and do what You want me to do!’ My challenge to our church this week has been to pray this prayer as we set aside some time with Jesus. To open our Bibles, go read about Him in one of the Gospels, with the expectation that God is going to speak, and with the intention that we are going to respond. Speak Lord, I’m listening. Amen 👆🏼🙏🏼