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I have always been fascinated with moms who are able to hear the cry of their baby in a room filled with crying babies. It has to be a special gift because for most fathers, all crying sounds made by babies sound the same. The intimate relationship the mom has with the baby is partly attributed to the closeness the mom feels with the baby when she is nursing.
When it comes to hearing God’s voice, the intimacy of the relationship is vital. In the story of Samuel (1 Sa 3), it is interesting to see the ability that Samuel had to hear God’s voice at a young age. Not only because of Samuel’s age but in 1 Sa 3:1 we see that “in those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”
With the help of Eli, Samuel realized that it was God who was speaking to him.
Every servant of God needs to hear God’s voice. Now, there will probably be some disagreements with people from different theological camps on whether the voice is a real audible voice or not. But regardless, the key point is being able to discern and know when God desires for us to do something.
This is something that God is teaching me again and again while I have been here in Indonesia. It is humbling to know that the good things that have happened here were a direct result of listening to God’s prompting and then having the courage to obey. I am reminded that God is constantly speaking. Therefore, the problem isn’t with God when we are not able to hear His voice. It is usually our busyness or lack of intimacy that causes us to turn a deaf ear to God.
There are certain seasons in our lives when we hunger for God’s voice. We get desperate for God to speak so that we will know what it is that God wants us to do. This is one of those seasons for me, especially as I am trying to navigate through this new arena of God’s favor.
God is usually speaking to us through one or more of these avenues:
2) People – It is amazing how many times God has spoken to me through various people in my life (sometimes even strangers). This means that we have to active in seeking advice from people who are further in this journey than us.
3) Problems – There are a lot of times when God has used a closed door or even a difficult situation to direct me towards another path. Problems are often times looked upon as a bad thing, but sometimes it can be a gift from God.
4) Pain – C.S. Lewis in his book, The Problem of Pain writes, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” When God wants to rock our world, He uses pain.
Once we are attuned to God’s voice, then the challenge for us is to obey His voice.