1 Samuel 3:7-8 Samuel did not yet recognize the LORD, since the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time.
The voice of the Lord in our heart will not be deep, loud or frightening. It will be soft, comforting and familiar. Samuel misunderstood the voice of God to the voice of Grandpa Eli. It must have sounded like the compassionate voice of Eli who was mentoring and training him in the temple duties. The voice of the Lord will be like the voice of the person we trust, love and respect. They are impressions that will guide, warn and comfort. One word from God will brighten up your day. So waiting in the prayer closet to hear back from God after we have narrated all that we want, need and desire is imperative.
“The Lord God speaks to us in our heart, not in our head. The devil messes with our mind and injects toxic thoughts in our head.”
The High Priest Eli was only a few feet away from Samuel but the Lord chose to speak to little Samuel. Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was (vs 3b). Eli had served the Lord all his life. His eyes were dull that he could barely see and he died not long after at the age of 98. He served God for 40 years but the Lord refused to talk to Eli, the High Priest and chose to talk to the young apprentice Samuel. Eli’s physical eyes were weak but his spiritual eyes were completely blinded and his spiritual ears were stone deaf as his heart was far away from the Lord. Proximity to God’s house does not guarantee hearing His voice. God speaks to our heart. If the heart is callous, careless and corroded with envy, deceit and antagonism it will be impossible to hear the voice of God.
Our heart must be close to God to hear Him:
1. Fearless: Heart that does not fear God and flee from sin, will fail to hear God. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7). Hardness of heart will silence the voice of God. The Israelites who did not fear God but hardened their hearts only saw the miraculous works of God but could not hear His voice as Moses did.
2. Frivolous: A frivolous heart that is not careful to obey God will not hear Him. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:22). Obedience to God’s Word will sharpen God’s voice but frivolous disobedience will make His voice feeble.
3. Fictitious: A fictitious heart is far away from God. A pure heart will see and hear Him vividly. Eli was a famous minister in Israel, but his heart was not dedicated. Fake, fictitious and fabricated hearts cannot hear Him.
A heart that is close to God will hear His voice clearly.
1 Samuel 3:10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, give me a pure heart free from deceit to hear your voice, direction and guidance clearly. Amen.
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