Hints for Hearing God (2)

The Lamp has not gone out

The story we heard about Samuel, comes from a dark time in Israel’s history. After the time of the great leaders Moses and Joshua, God had given Israel leaders in times of crisis, but all too often the people had gone their own way. The book of Judges ends, ‘In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.’ As the years went by, the tabernacle at Shiloh just about kept going - and while the old priest Eli was a good but fading man, he’d kept the lamp of religoin burning, but had lost sight of what it was all about. His sons who were in charge now were only interested in themselves and the young women who worked at the tabernacle. In the middle of all this, Samuel was about twelve, and had grown up in the tabernacle, doing all the odd jobs no-one else wanted.

There’s a telling phrase in verse 3 - ‘the lamp of God had not yet gone out’ - the lamp in the sanctuary that symbolised God’s presence was meant to burn constantly, but perhaps this isn’t about it running out of oil; it’s about what it means. The presence of God is just about holding on in there; but flickering and all but forgotten. But the flame was about to burn bright again, and Samuel would have a huge part to play in setting it ablaze.

In our second reading, we heard some of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, just more than a thousand years later, calling Philip and Nathanael. Again, it was a changing of times. There’d been 400 years without a prophet, and now John had appeared, Jesus was coming onto the scene and something new was beginning.

In the middle of their times of darkness and turmoil, Samuel and Nathanael had to learn to recognise God’s voice when he spoke to them. So what can we learn from them?

Make Space

Perhaps the first thing is to make space. Samuel was sleeping when God spoke to him - sleeping near the Ark of the Covenant at the heart of the sanctuary; the place where God’s presence was focussed on earth, but which had really become just an impressive bit of furniture in the corner. Samuel woke when God spoke to him, and at last it was when he lay awake, waiting for the voice, that the conversation got going.

Nathanael was sitting under the fig tree - we don’t know what he was doing, but I suspect he was resting, stopping to think in the shade. And there, through Philip, he began to hear God’s call. Not as a mysterious voice in the sanctuary, but as an invitation from a friend to ‘come and see’.

God speaks in many different ways; and he may be speaking to you through a friend’s invitation to join him in discovering God’s ways just as much as if you hear your name called in the night. Or if some inner voice prompts you to give someone a phone call. Or if you’re about to do something and your conscience is trying to catch your attention to say you’re heading the wrong way. Or if you’re reading something in the Bible that makes you stop and think. Or… you get the idea.

God speaks in many ways. but we’ve got the best chance of hearing him if we take time regularly to stop, think, pray and listen. And if you remember last weeks’ sermon, this is all part of living out our baptism, living aware of God’s Spirit.

Accept the wisdom of others

And we don’t have to do it alone. The second thing is to accept the wisdom of others.

Samuel - needed Eli to help him realise that God was speaking (Eli couldn’t hear God himself, but knew enough to help Samuel). He naturally assumed that it was Eli who was calling him, and to his credit Eli didn’t get fed up when Samuel woke him up twice. He realised what was happening - with no sign of jealousy that it seemed to be his servant who was hearing God’s voice rather than him, the priest. And he told Samuel to be ready, humble and open to what might happen. ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’

A thousand years later Nathanael needed Philip’s encouragement to overcome his prejudice about people from Nazareth and ‘Come and see’.

If you feel that anything might be God’s voice speaking to you, or his prompt in any other way, talk with someone you trust, a priest or a Christian friend who’s been following God for some time. Sound them out, see what they think. Of course, they may not be right, but talking it through with someone else will help you to be sure that you’re listening to God and not the echo of something you watched on television before you went to sleep.

It’s OK not to be sure

And it’s ok not to be sure about it - Nathanael certainly had his doubts as he went to meet this mysterious carpenter who’d so impressed Philip. And Samuel wasn’t sure what was going on either. Remember what Eli had told him to say - ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ And listen to what Samuel said.

The New Revised Standard Version Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity

Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Samuel leaves out the ‘LORD’ bit. He’s listening, but he’s not assuming that he’s hearing the voice of God until he’s got a bit more to go on. Most of the time, that’s not a bad precaution. Too many bad decisions have been made because someone thought that their bright idea was a command from God. That’s one of the reasons to talk things through with a wise friend before doing something drastic.

Do something about it

But the ‘doing something’ bit is important. One of the best-established ways to hear more of God’s voice in your life is to listen for him, check it out if you need to and then do what he tells you. God doesn’t speak to give you a spiritual high point in your life, so you can remember and look back with a smile on the day when it all seemed so clear. He speaks to help you get your life right.

And usually he speaks one step at a time. When we take the first step, then we’ve got much more chance of hearing him speak about the second step.

Learning to hear God’s voice is a lifetime project, and there’s far more to say. I’ll put a link below this video to some great resources we used in our Prayer Course last year, and I’d encourage you to have a look there if you’re serious about listening for God.

But as a start, make space to listen for what God is saying to you - he’s not silent. Check it out with a wise friend or guide, and feel free to be cautious. But once you know, once you’re convinced that God has spoken - do what he says. Then see what he says next.