Samuel Listens to God – 1 Samuel 1:1 – 3:21

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

At the beginning of our E100 journey, Adam and Eve demonstrated for us how easy it is to listen to the wrong voice.  After reading their story, we talked about the importance of practicing a consistent devotional life of scripture reading and prayer, so we can better discern the voice of God.

Interestingly enough, Samuel’s story is the exact opposite of Adam and Eve’s story.  Instead of hearing another voice and mistaking it for God’s voice, Samuel hears God speak and mistakes it for Eli.

While Samuel doesn’t ignore the voice of God, his story highlights the other extreme… that we would fail to recognize the voice of God, attributing His voice to someone else.  And whenever we do that, we face the temptation to simply ignore what God is telling us.

Even though we live in an era where God doesn’t often speak in direct and audible ways, let us be sure that we are always listening… ready to hear (and recognize) the still small voice of God when He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit.