By Peter Kennedy
“So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 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 3:9-10
In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God:
Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.
One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.
Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.
"I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking."
In much the same way, we need to be still in order to hear our Heavenly Father’s voice. Today in prayer, thank the Lord for His Word and seek to listen to Him and follow Him in all that you do.
“The closer you get to the Shepherd, the louder His voice will be.” – Nate Barbour
God’s Word: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27
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