In those days the word of the LORD was rare…
Then the LORD called Samuel.
Again the LORD called, “Samuel!”
A third time the Lord called,"Samuel!”
The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
I Samuel 3v1,4,6,8,10
Samuel’s first hint at hearing God’s voice was a call. A beckoning. An invitation to come close and listen.
But he didn’t know that at the time. He heard something but he didn’t know who was calling let alone what he was saying. And so he answered with the simple wisdom of a child,
Here I am.
When the same confusing urging called again, Samuel repeated the only response he could think of:
Here I am.
Again and again. Simple words of acceptance, of availability, of acknowledgement.
Here I am.
When Moses first heard that urgent calling, “Moses! Moses!” he responded the same way:
Here I am.
Isaiah said the same words when He heard God calling, searching for someone who would be willing to do His bidding:
Here I am.
For those of us who are learning to listen to the Voice of God in our lives, the first words we hear sound like an invitation. With Samuel and Moses and Isaiah, we sense a strange stirring, a beckoning to come close.
Our hearts yearn to know and be known by Someone whose love we cannot possibly grasp, but whose Voice we long to hear.
There comes an alertness to something more, to something we need, to something we are willing to go after if only we can learn how.
In the early mornings as I light sweet smelling candles and arrange my tea on the table beside my chair, I tune my silent ears to that Voice.
Here I am, Lord.
I stand shivering before the heater, wrapped in the warmth of a shawl, my mind slowly untangling as my heart hears… something. Someone.
Here I am, Lord, here I am.
Often, the first words I sense are my name. Just as God called Moses, and little Samuel, and the great Isaiah, by name…
He whispers my name, and yours.
Di, come close. Listen.
And sometimes it’s just a feeling. A sensing in my slowly awakening spirit. A pulling of my heart that draws me into His presence.
Here I am— Lord, I’m here!
I curl into the corner of my big chair, open the only Word we know without doubt is His— that Word that is sharp enough to discern what I cannot.
And He pulls me into His heart as I read the stories, as I imagine Moses all alone, little Samuel longing for his mom, Isaiah, so afraid of what he cannot understand.
I read and I listen.
I pause to stare out the window, to sip tea, to ponder.
More than any other way, I am convinced that He speaks in and through and with His written Word. A poet/writer paints a picture of a-
“thin place through which the presence of God breaks into this world and bursts with unpredictable consequences into our lives.”
The Fire of the Word, Chris Webb
Yes! Yes!
I have seen that thin place— sensed His presence, His speaking in these Scriptures. I have entered in to see and know and feel and hear Him in the depths of holy silence that encases this Book.
Are you there yet? Being pulled into a place of listening? Sensing somewhere in your soul that Someone is calling you into intimacy?This is His invitation to come. To settle in with the Scriptures open, to read with ears wide open.
That stirring you sense is a beckoning to lean in and listen— not for solutions so much as for Him.
I am here, Lord! Speak, please speak! Your servant is listening.
From that quiet place where even the deaf can hear,
Diane
P.S. Are you hearing His beckoning in your spirit? Can you tell us what that sounds like for you? And if you’re longing to hear but can’t seem to— will you leave your name and I will pray? I’d love to take a whole list of you on my walk today.