Aaron shares his thought for the week; making space for Jesus’ voice.

1 Samuel chapter 3 gives us the account of Samuel who is serving in the temple under Eli and hears God’s voice for the very first time.

Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

1 Samuel 3:4-5

If you’re familiar with this account then you’ll know that this isn’t the first time this happens, but all over again. And Samuel hears this voice and runs to Eli and Eli says, “It wasn’t me.” So he says, “Go back and lie down.” And then it happens a third time and on the third time Samuel hears this voice and runs to Eli. Eli realises Samuel must be hearing the Lord’s voice. And so he says, “Next time you hear this voice when you’re lying down, would you say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'”

And I’d love to challenge us with that bit of scripture. I’d love to challenge myself as well. But how can we make space for the voice of Jesus in our lives? How can we say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” And this happened to Samuel while he was trying to go to sleep – so it wasn’t a convenient time necessarily for the Lord to speak! But I pray that that’s the same for us too.

I’m currently sitting in our church building, but I pray that He would speak to us when we’re queuing up and we’re trying to get our shopping done or wake us up just as he woke Samuel up, or even when we’re driving to work in the morning, that he would speak. And that we’d be ready to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I’m listening to your voice.”

Maybe you’re a bit like Samuel, and you aren’t familiar with the voice of Jesus in your life. Maybe you haven’t heard him speak before. But trust me, I believe that he wants to speak to you and he is speaking. You might have heard his voice and at first thought it was something else, just like Samuel did. And if you are familiar with Jesus’ voice in your life, how are you making yourself in just this next day and this next week to be available for him to speak even at the more inconvenient times in your life?

Perhaps you would like to join me in this prayer; “Lord Jesus, I thank you that you love to speak to your children and you love to communicate with us and have conversations with us. And Lord, throughout this day, Lord, I pray that you’d help me, help us to be ready to receive the word that you have for us. Lord, I don’t pray that it would just come at a convenient time when I’m praying and I’m trying to meet with you. But Lord, would you captivate my attention when I’m at the checkout? Lord, would you captivate my attention? Would I be ready to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening when I’m in my car on the way home from work?” Lord, I thank you that you’re present and that you’re here and that you love to speak to us. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

So don’t forget, be ready to listen to Jesus’ voice today because he wants to speak to you!

Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.