1 Samuel 3
One of my favorite movies of all time is "Field Of Dreams." It is the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who in the middle of his corn field hears a voice speaking to him. The voice says, "If you build it, he will come." The conflict in the movie is how Ray will respond to the voice. Will he obey the voice and take the risk of financial collapse, or will he play it safe and raise corn.
This is not a Christian movie but the parallels are obvious. We are people who have heard a voice from another world. It is a voice from beyond the physical, material, and financially focused world. Not everyone has heard the voice. But we have heard the voice, now what will we do?
92% of Americans believe in God. But does this God still speak? If he does, has he spoken to them? If he has spoken to them, have they obeyed the voice? These are the critical questions that we must each answer.
Samuel was one of the mightiest men of God. It is no coincidence his first assignment from God necessitated that he learns how to hear God's voice. Samuel's ability to hear the voice was his most important priority.
There are lots of voices speaking to us in 2015. Every day we hear the voices of government officials, we hear the voices of media people, friends, bosses, and family. But is there any more important voice than God's?
A few observations on the voice of God:
1. It is a real voice that speaks in our language. Not every one hears the voice audibly, but we certainly hear his whisper in our hearts and our conscience.
2. His voice can be heard in his Word the Bible.
3. It is a friendly voice. It will not ask you to violate anything in his written Word.
4. His voice is a quiet whisper. We must be silent to hear it. When was the last time you sat quietly for an hour?
5. His voice is blocked by sin.
6. His voice speaks to young people, even elementary age children.
Prayer: Lord, teach us to listen. The times we live in are noisy, and our ears are weary with the 1000 raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give us the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to you, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Let us hear you speaking to our hearts. Help us to become acquainted to the sound of your voice. And then give us the courage to obey. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior and our articulate God. Amen.
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