Daily Devotion April 10 --Here I Am

April 10

1 Samuel 3

4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

Samuel was just a child, yet he heard the Lord calling him.  The first 2 times the Lord called, Samuel ran to the priest Eli.  The third time that Samuel ran to Eli, Eli realized that it was the Lord God calling Samuel and Eli told him how to answer.  The next time the Lord called, Samuel said "Speak, for Thy servant heareth." (v.10)

I wonder how many times God has called out to us and we thought surely it was someone else speaking to  us.  Maybe we thought it was our own ego.  Maybe we thought we were just speaking to ourselves.  I wonder how many times God has had to call us before we realized Who was calling out name.

In this noisy culture that we live in, it is often difficult for us to hear God.  But listening for His voice is a very important part of our Christian walk.   We must be careful not to let our minds become more in tune with the the sounds of the world than we are with the voice of God.  Perhaps that is the reason we have been forced into a more quiet time.  With less to do, fewer places to go and fewer obligations, we should have time to be quiet.  We have more opportunity to sit and quietly listen for God's calling.

I love this quote:  "Breaking the pattern of rush, rush, rush can restore our bodies
and our minds and can bring an oasis of healing calm in the midst of stress." Norman Vincent Peale
It is a great reminder that we need to settle our minds and listen.

As we go through the day today, let us be sure to take time to listen for God's voice.