Blog 47 / Our High Calling

Listening for the Master’s Voice

“Speak Lord for your servant is listening!” (1 Sam 3:10 NIV)

We can talk to our Heavenly Father anytime, anywhere, about anything. Isn’t that great? But the best relationships are those where friends both talk and listen to each other. God wants that kind of relationship with His people. He wants us to be as ready to listen to Him as He is to listen to us.

As much as we might want to hear from God, our natural tendency is to be concerned with our own needs. Our prayers for them are usually all we make time for. Our busy lives don’t leave much room for listening which is an essential part of prayer. How can we know what God wants us to do if we don’t listen to what He has to say?

Perhaps another reason for not listening is because we might not want to hear what God has to say to us. There may be an area of our life we don’t want Him to disturb. If we listen too closely we might hear Him ask us to give up something or do something we are not quite ready or willing to do. It is easier to stay busy with our Bible reading and prayer lists (all good things) but without allowing any time for God to speak to us.

If we are serious about listening to God, it will help to cultivate a habit of meditating on God. What is He saying to me through His Word? Do we give Him enough time to answer? Do we let Him impress His thoughts on our spirit? It helps to be in a quiet place, but we don’t have to be. God can speak to us in the storm. An ear trained to listen for its Master’s voice can hear it anytime, anywhere.

Question: do we expect God to speak to us when we pray or read His Word? The prophet Habakkuk stood at his watch on the ramparts waiting to hear what God would say to him (Hab. 2:1-2). This was in response to his complaints. His expectant waiting was rewarded when the Lord gave him a new vision about what was to come.

Psalm 25:14 tells us God wants to confide in His people. How incredible is that? God reveals the deep things of His heart to those who make time to listen. It could be something awesome like what He wanted to tell His prophet Jeremiah: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jer. 33:3). Or it could be simply a gentle word of encouragement in the ear of a tired worker.

If we are not in the habit of listening to God and expecting Him to speak to us, we may miss some incredible things He might have wanted to say! May we be able to say with Samuel, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening!”

 

Colin Stott
GRN Global Prayer Coordinator

read colin’s previous blogs:
prayer and unbelief – blog 46
Our Motivation in Praying for the Lost – blog 45
demolishing strongholds – blog 44
overcome evil with good- blog 43
dealing with strongholds – blog 42
when our prayers go unanswered – blog 41
key to unanswered prayer – blog 40
prayer and The bride – blog 39
The Battle is the Lord’s – blog 38
praying for workers – blog 37
finding time to pray – blog 36
when the church is under attack – blog 35
FEASTING and FASTING – blog 34
OUR AUTHORITY IN PRAYER – blog 33
why ask for what we already have? – blog 32
is anyone praying for them? – blog 31
delays are part of answered prayer – blog 30
weapons of our warfare – blog 29
Keeping our spiritual fervor – blog 28
days of great harvest – blog 27
not i but christ – blog 26
what if – Blog 25
praying scripture – Blog 24
Prayer and obedience -Blog 23
the Prayer warrior – Blog 22
time alone with god – Blog 21
last resort – Blog 20
Prayer with rejoicing faith – Blog 19
travel the world through Prayer – Blog 18
lord, break me – Blog 17
ye have not because ye ask not – Blog 16
our Prayers reveal our heart – Blog 15
church of the living god – Blog 14
when we Pray for the lost – Blog 13
more than meets the eye – Blog 12
sugar cubes and  Prayer – Blog 11
it’s a wonderful life – Blog 10
the longings of god – Blog 9
praising god before he answers – Blog 8
no place like home – Blog 7
praying for god’s glory – Blog 6
are we known as formidable opponents – Blog 5
sugar cubes and Prayer – Blog 4
rejocing over god with singing – Blog 3
the indispensable Prayers of the church – Blog 2
the glorious end – Blog 1