March 27

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?

94% 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 2010. Every day we hear the voices of President Obama or our government officials, we hear the voices of media people. friends, counselors, bosses, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, children. 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. It is a friendly voice. It will not ask you to violate anything in his written Word.
3. His voice is a quiet whisper. We must be silent to hear it. When was the last time you sat quietly for an hour?
4. His voice is blocked by sin.
5. His voice speaks to young people.
6. His voice speaks truth.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to listen. The times I live in are noisy, and my ears are weary with the 1000 raucous sounds which continuously assault them. Give me the spirit of the boy Samuel when he said to you, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Let me hear you speaking to my heart. Let me get used to the sound of your voice, that its tones may be familiar when the sounds of earth die away and the only sound will be the music of your speaking voice.