I Samuel 3:4,5
‘the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down’
Samuel was hearing from the Lord. It would become part of his ministry as he becomes the prophet for the nation and the godly influence for kings. At this time, Samuel didn’t know it was God. The Lord speaks to us as well. Just as Samuel didn’t discern that it was God’s voice, so we need to be trained as well.
Hebrews 5:11 says, “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.” A few verses later, the author says, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” This is a negative passage. However, it points out that as we mature in Christ our spiritual senses should grow sharper and more discerning. The Hebrew audience stunted their growth. Thus they become calloused and dull to God.
How do we train our senses? By seeking and being open to the Lord. Going to church, reading the bible, associating with other believers and serving are the main ways. All throughout our days, we are prompted with ideas, intuitions, cautions and more. Much of that is from our own selves, but some of it is scripture coming to our remembrance. Some of it could be God nudging us.
Talk to God about this. Lord, guide me. Lord, are You warning me not to do this? Pastor Buddy Owens shares his prayer process. “Lord, I’m going to do this. If it’s a bad idea, could You let me know?” I may get an a sense one way or the other. One time as I was ready to get out of my car to do something, and a great song came on the radio. I stopped and was curious if the Lord was slowing me down or attempting to stop me. I don’t know if it was the Lord, but I go with these impressions and hunches. Being open to Him and asking for His guidance is how we train our senses.
I feel it necessary to talk about guilt, shame and God. We have plenty that we feel guilty about. This transfers over to our thoughts about God. We feel He must disapprove. However, He loves us and accepts us fully. If we have submitted to Him and accepted Christ’s forgiveness, we are forever clean. That takes time to sink in and to be confident in His acceptance. I John 3:20 says, “in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” God isn’t guilt. Guilt disapproves and drives away. It causes us to hide and ignore the source. The Lord puts in us a desire to draw near to Him and to be rid of the sin.
The main source of God communicating with us has already been said in the Bible. That is where we go first. It’s also the standard by which we judge everything. The Lord will never contradict His Word. If we sense Him telling us something and His Word says otherwise, then ignore that idea. If we sense guilt and shame, we can ignore that, as the Bible speaks of His great love towards us. David says in Psalm 138:17, 18 “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand…” That is so far from shame. Yet, we tend to have many poor thoughts. We should recite what God says when we feel shame.
What a wonderful thing to walk through this world with Lord in us and communicating with us. Lord, thank You for this. Help us to mature in our senses to hear and follow You.