"Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Today's Meditation: 1Samuel 3:1-12; Focus--verse 9 "And Eli said to Samuel, Go lie down: and it shall be, if he shall call your name again, you shall say, Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth..."

"Said the night wind to the little lamb, "Do you hear what I hear?" These are the opening words to one of my favorite holiday songs. As a little girl in my elementary school Christmas play, I recall with great fondness having been selected to portray little Mary, the mother of Jesus--all the while, our tiny voices sang this wonderful account of Jesus' birth.

What was always most fascinating to me was the fact that in the song, the Wind could speak to an animal, who in turn delivered the message to a shepherd boy! It all seemed so magical and mysterious to me...Incredible? Impossible? or Miraculous?

That same sense of awe and wonderment I had as a 9 year-old girl remains with me today each time I hear the voice of my invisible God speaking to me today, so that I might deliver His message to the world. How must young Samuel have felt? He did not know God very well yet, but because he had been set apart, consecrated, and properly dedicated to the Lord by his parents, his ears were supernaturally opened to the voice of God.

Hearing from God requires that you be available (free & willing). Listening to God requires that you be obedient (disciplined). Listening is a call to action. Listening to God requires your soul to be in a place of clarity, calm, and purity. Hearing God requires a level of humility and a bowing down to every word that comes forth by His Spirit. Once the Lord knows and is fully confident that you have made yourself available to His voice, He opens the floodgates of revelation, instruction, wisdom, guidance, and simple communion with Him! So the question is:

When is the last time you really heard from God? I mean, really heard Him speak to you...

Today and always, let us continually keep ourselves open to the fresh Wind of God to reveal himself in whatever wonderful way He chooses to do so. Amen.
--Rev. Steph