God's word comes near in LISTENING

“Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”” 1 Samuel 3:10

Before Samuel said your servant is listening, he ran to Eli, his mentor thinking he was calling him.  About three different times Samuel heard his name called and each time he ran to Eli in the middle of the night and was like, “I am here!” Eli was confused till he realized that God was calling Samuel. 

Just like Samuel, when we hear God’s call, we might mistakenly think it’s someone else. It’s perfectly normal to struggle to listen to that calling or to not fully recognize that feeling of what feels right. I know what it’s like to push away the call, to ignore it, to question it, and even to answer it. It can truly be a challenge to hear that call and to feel ready to receive it.

The phrase we hear is I am listening.  How often do you say that and mean that? How much do we depend on others hearing and listening to us? How much when we pray do we have faith that God is listening? How often are we willing to be still to hear God’s message? Are we listening to His Word?

Let's aim to listen like Samuel and be ready to respond with "Speak, for your servant is listening."