Mastering The Voice Of God
And Samuel the child ministered unto the Lord before Eli. and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision and it came to pass at the time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamb of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, Samuel laid down to sleep; that the Lord called Samuel: and he answered here I am. 1 Samuel 3 vs. 1-4 KJV
By Humphrey Mtandwa
Samuel ministered unto God in a time of Eli, the priest and, in that time, it was said the Word of God was rare. The young man Samuel served God faithfully in a system that no longer valued Him. Samuel as he lay at night, God called him and he went to the Eli because he thought it was the priest who had called him but the priest confirmed he had not called him, so he went back to sleep. He woke up again and again until Eli discerned that it was God speaking and gave Samuel instructions on how to respond.
Though the priest has unrighteous sons, he could still teach the young man the voice of God. After following the instructions, Samuel heard God speak to him. I once heard a man of God whom I highly revere saying for you to enter a certain dimension of fellowship with God, someone within that dimension has to key you in, meaning they have to teach you the principles of walking with God at that level. At times you will skip the processes he went through when you tap into that grace upon his life. These individuals have a responsibility to teach others how to have a relationship with God and some people may never enter into these dimensions because they are not humble or they don’t know that you need someone to teach you.
In Eli’s time, God’s voice was rare but the priest still understood how God spoke. And when he instructed Samuel, it ushered him into a new dimension of God’s grace. Samuel could have missed God and would have not been able to get into the next dimension of fellowship with God.
Sometimes these individuals are not the most visible of people because they spend most of their time in fellowship and prayer with the Lord. You may ask how you can be able to identify these individuals because they are hidden but yet visible. A man or woman who walks with God and has experienced the supernatural is a man of integrity.
Eli had access to understanding God’s voice because he had met with God. The biggest challenge you can have is to assume that you don’t need anyone to help you discover the voice or gain deeper insights about God. The man Samuel was a prophet who anointed the first king of Israel and even told his mentor how judgement shall come upon his family. God wanted to tell Samuel of the coming judgement upon Eli’s house but God had to use Eli to help Samuel understand this judgement. The judgement would have come even if Samuel did not tell Eli but Samuel would never have learnt the voice of God.
The biggest challenge we have in our generation is that, Samuel is passing judgement upon Eli, before he is taught how God speaks.
The greatest secret to the things of God is humility and possessing a teachable spirit. Even a donkey instructed a prophet. Learn to empty yourself and open yourself up to learn from those that the Lord may send to you.
