Speak, For Your Servant is Listening
By Major Beth Desplancke
My son, Ryan, has a husky named Ayla, who spends a lot of her day chilling in the front entryway of our home, looking out the window. This is one of her favorite spots in the house, especially in the mornings. After Ayla has gone outside first thing in the morning, Ayla goes to the front room and lays her head on the window ledge and just relaxes, and she waits. She waits for the time Ryan gets up in the morning and opens his bedroom door.
Ayla is so tuned to her master, that she knows when she hears a door open in the house, whether it is Ryan’s or not. When it is Ryan’s door, her ears perk up, and she immediately goes towards his bedroom door, alert and ready for her master.
Now, I have listened to the various bedroom doors in our house, and they all sound the same to me. I can’t tell which of my three kids is opening the bedroom door, but Ayla can. When another door opens, her ears perk up, but then she relaxes back into her resting position.
Day in and day out as I watched the dog do this, the Lord started stirring my heart. Am I actively listening for God to speak to me, in my life? And when He speaks to my heart, am I quick to respond?
In 1 Samuel 3, we see a great example of one who is listening for the Lord to speak and ready to respond. Samuel is serving in the temple, under the tutelage of Eli. One night, Samuel was lying in his usually place and he heard someone call his name. He got up and immediately went to Eli and said, “Here I am, you called me” (1 Samuel 3:6). Eli said he didn’t call and told Samuel to go back to bed. Two more times this happened. Finally, by the third time, Eli realized what was going on. He told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). Samuel obeyed, went back to bad, and sure enough God called to him again. Samuel heard the voice and this time responded, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Then the Lord told Samuel what He was about to do in Israel, including the fact that Eli and his family would no longer serve as priests to the Lord (3:11-14; see also 1 Samuel 2:27-36).
Now, most of us will never have an encounter where God appears and calls us audibly by name, so how do we go about listening for Him? From Samuel, I learn 4 things I need to do in order to listen for and hear God: Sit in Silence, Stop Talking, Slow Down/Stay Put, Say Yes!
Samuel was in a quiet place. Our world is anything but quiet; we are surrounded by noise. We can’t eliminate all the noise around us, but we can choose to find a quiet place to meet with God each day, in order that we might hear Him. It may mean finding a quiet place in your home (a spare room, a closet, the bathroom, the garage). Or when driving to work, turning off the radio and driving in silence, spending that time with the Lord.
Finding silence also means to stop talking. Samuel only said 6 words: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” He acknowledges that he is ready to listen, and then he listens. It is God who does the speaking. When God is done, there is no record of Samuel speaking back to the Lord. God wants to talk to us, but we have to be willing to stop talking and allow Him to speak.
After we stop talking, we need to slow down and wait for God to respond. Samuel said he was listening to God, and then made himself available, and he allowed God to speak. Often when I pray, doing all the talking, say amen and move on, not allowing God a chance to respond. The same goes with my time reading His Word. Sometimes I speedily read through it, just to say I did it for the day, but I fail to linger, to contemplate, to think about what I read. The Bible is God’s Word; He speaks to us through it, but we have to slow down in order to hear Him. Margaret Feinberg wrote, “Listening forces me to learn patience. Nowhere in the Bible does God commit to running on our schedule or fitting into our time frame, though I wish it were that easy.” I must stay put, and wait, expectantly for Him to speak.
When the Lord speaks, I can’t pretend I didn’t hear Him (especially if I don’t like what He is saying to me). I need to respond by saying “yes” to Him. Samuel listened to what God had said to him, and in the morning when Eli asked about what happened Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him (1 Samuel 3:18). God had given Samuel a message, and Samuel said yes to God and obeyed.
Lord, may I tune out the noise of the world and lean in and listen to what you have to say to me today! May I be like Samuel, Speak, for your servant is listening.
