Word of Encouragement (08/16/2023)

And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears." (1 Sam. 3:10).

Here is Samuel’s response to God, which is what Eli taught him to do. If prayer should be understood as a dialogue with God, this qualifies as a prayer. We often think of prayer as (and it often feels like) a monologue, which we initiate. But we must not forget that it is God, who initiated our conversation with Him by commanding us to pray. In that sense, our prayer is always a response to God’s gracious invitation.

We must also know that listening is an important part of having a dialogue. Having called us to pray, God listens to us when we pray, giving us His full attention to answer our prayers. What an amazing privilege it is that we can pray to God. And as God listens to us, we should also learn to listen to Him in our prayers. We should not think that God speaks to us as He did with Samuel and the prophets in an audible voice from heaven. Long ago, God spoke in this special mode of revelation (and others, Heb. 1:1) because the people of God lacked God’s full revelation in the Bible. If the Bible is sufficient for our faith and living, He no longer needs to speak to us more; we should search for God’s will in it. So, from time to time, we should stop talking in our prayers and quietly listen to God. He may speak to us by bringing to our minds pertinent Scripture verses or doctrines. He may speak to us by pricking our conscience.

Samuel’s prayer is something we can, and should, pray especially before we read the Bible. First, we should ask the Lord to speak to us as we read His Word. Yes, He has already spoken through His inspired prophets in the Bible. So, when we ask God to speak to us, we are asking God to illumine His inspired words so that we can understand them and apply them to our lives appropriately.

Second, we should pray this prayer with the unreserved readiness to obey whatever God should tell us in His Word. The Hebrew word for “hear” (shama) also means “obey.” The only proper way of listening to God is with the posture of willing obedience. He is sovereign. He has absolute authority over our lives as our Creator, Lord, and Redeemer. We must not read God’s Word as arrogant literary critics; rather, we must listen to what the Bible says as soldiers listen to their general but with greater reverence and attention. Let us remember this prayer whenever we read the Bible.