Day 3 - We Posture To Hear God’s Voice 

1 Samuel 3:10 – Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. (NIV)

Listening to God requires that we purposefully prepare, or posture, our hearts to hear His voice. To “posture” means to “adjust to a particular manner, state, person or thing, for a particular purpose.” 

Steering a car requires purposeful adjustments so that we can travel safely to our destination. Listening to God requires purposeful adjustments, so that we can hear His voice and thus recognize His ultimate purpose and plans. Scripture tells us in 1 Samuel 3 that even a child can purposefully adjust in order to hear & recognize God’s voice: 

1The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.2 One night, Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 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. 

6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 

9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (NIV) 

Attentiveness is an essential element of posturing ourselves to hear God’s voice. Ruth Haley Barton, author of Pursuing God’s Will Together, reminds us that developing our ability to sense God’s heart and purpose at any time “involves a major commitment to listening - with love and attention – to God, to Scripture, to each other and to what’s going on in the depths of our own souls, where God’s Spirit witnesses with our spirit about things that are true.” (PGWT, 202)

What adjustments do you need to make today in order to hear God’s voice? 

Pray This Prayer Today: (Pray this aloud, then take a few moments to listen) “Lord, we are your servants, and you are our Heavenly Father. We know that you desire to speak to us. Like Samuel, may we purposefully adjust by listening with love and attention to You, to each other, and to what’s going on in the depth of our souls. Speak, Spirit of the Living God, for your servants are listening. In Jesus Name, Amen.”