Devotion - Wednesday, January 16

My morning readings are currently guiding me through Isaiah.  Often the Prophet will say, "Thus says the Lord...."  And he is rather clear as to what the Lord says.

How did he hear God say that?

This was a question asked at last night's LCM Bible Study.  At the time, we were studying I Samuel.  In I Samuel 3 we read that God speaks to Samuel.  "Did God actually 'speak'? Or did Samuel hear God - in his head?" was the question which followed.

(I ask forgiveness from those at the Bible Study who will have to endure another attempt at an answer, but there is a lesson which emerged from last night's conversation which bears repeating.)

Perhaps the thing which makes characters in the Bible worthy of writing about is their ability to hear when God speaks.  That was the theme of our study last night.  We all need to train our ears to hear the voice of God, the Word of God, the call of God.  Too often, we are like the boy Samuel who "did not yet know the voice of the Lord."  He learned to say to God, "Speak, for your servant is listening."  And so do we.

Will God speak in an actual voice that creates vibrations in our inner ear?  A more appropriate question would be to ask if that is the only way we are prepared to hear God speaking.

There have been occasions (rare occasions) on which I would insist that I "heard" God speak.  The most notable of these was during my sleep; the voice woke me.  There are many more times in which I heard God in and under other words being spoken.  I most often hear God as I sit quietly in my chair, offering my morning prayers.

"How did he hear God say that?"  How do you hear God speaking to you?  Are you open to the various ways in which God is sending to you his Word, his guidance, his instructions?

Listen.