Voice in the Dark

"The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant is listening.'"¹

"One summer night a young man who lived in Scotland decided to take a shortcut across the moors on his walk into town where he worked.

"The countryside was known for its limestone quarries. He knew he would be passing near one of these quarries, but thought he could avoid it. The night was pitch black without a star in sight, but the young man set out through the rock and heather anyway.

"Suddenly he heard a voice call out with great urgency, 'Peter!'

"He was unnerved but stopped and called back into the darkness, 'Yes, who is it? What do you want?' There was no response—just a gentle breeze over the deserted moorland.

"He decided that he'd been mistaken and walked on a few more steps. Then he heard the voice again, this time even more urgent than the first: 'Peter!'

"He stopped dead in his tracks, bent forward to peer through the darkness, and stumbled to his knees. He reached out a hand to the ground before him, but only clutched thin air. It was the quarry! Sure enough, as Peter carefully felt around in a semicircle he found that he had stopped on the edge of the abandoned limestone quarry one short step before a fatal plunge into the abyss. Out there in the desolate moor someone knew him and someone cared about him.

"Peter Marshall never forgot that incident. Dedicating his life to the one who'd called him by name, he went on to become one of America's greatest ministers.²

Did you ever stop to realize that God also knows you by name—and everything else about you. Have you ever "heard" him calling you? If you learn to listen with your heart, you will hear what he wants of you.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me always to be sensitive to your call. Please give me an attentive mind and a listening heart as well as a willing spirit to always heed your bidding and obey your word. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV).
2. Steven R. Mosley, Glimpses of God, (Sisters, Oregon: Questar Publishers, Inc., 1990), pp. 149-150. Cited on www.sermons.com

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Daily Encounter by
Richard (Dick) Innes of ACTS International

How can we recognize the voice of God?

This question has been asked by countless people throughout the ages. Samuel heard the voice of God, but did not recognize it until he was instructed by Eli (1 Samuel 3:1-10). 

Gideon had a physical revelation from God, and he still doubted what he had heard to the point of asking for a sign, not once, but three times (Judges 6:17-22, 36-40). 

When we are listening for God's voice, how can we know that He is the one speaking? 

First of all, we have something that Gideon and Samuel did not. We have the complete Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read, study, and meditate on. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

When we have a question about a certain topic or decision in our lives, we should see what the Bible has to say about it. God will never lead us or direct us contrary to what He has taught or promised in His Word (Titus 1:2).

Second, to hear God's voice we must recognize it. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him—those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd and they know His voice. If we are to recognize God's voice, we must belong to Him.

Third, we hear His voice when we spend time in prayer, Bible study, and quiet contemplation of His Word. The more time we spend intimately with God and His Word, the easier it is to recognize His voice and His leading in our lives. 

Employees at a bank are trained to recognize counterfeits by studying genuine money so closely that it is easy to spot a fake. We should be so familiar with God’s Word that when God does speak to us or lead us, it is clear that it is God. God speaks to us so that we may understand truth. While God can speak audibly to people, He speaks primarily through His Word, and sometimes through the Holy Spirit to our consciences, through circumstances, and through other people. By applying what we hear to the truth of Scripture, we can learn to recognize His voice.

Recommended Resource: Hearing God's Voice by Henry & Richard Blackaby.

Source: Got Questions