Switch off from the world and switch on to God today.
1 Samuel 3:1-4
The boy Samuel ministered before Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli….was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of the Lord had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple/tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called to Samuel.
The first time God spoke to Samuel was in the night time, while everything was still. The duties of the day were over and the place was quiet, no distractions. Samuel had to learn to hear and know the voice of the Lord for himself, so it makes sense that He began to speak when everything was quiet.
Samuel was lying down where the ark(presence) of God was. We could say he was in a place where God could speak to him. He was living in an atmosphere where the worship of God was ongoing. The chapter begins by saying that the word of the Lord was rare, people were observing religious rituals but the rhema (living, spoken) word of God was rare. Samuel had a calling from God and God began to speak to him directly, but even though he had the calling he had to be in a place to hear from heaven.
The Indian prophet Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj, talking to young people in this generation, told them they needed to spend the last hour before going to sleep with the Lord. Worshipping, reading the word and praying, getting into the atmosphere and presence of the Lord before sleep. In doing this the Lord would be able to speak to them more readily during the night time. I don’t think we realise how pervasive and contaminating the world is in our lives, especially today with TV, internet, phones, tablets etc.
We need to switch off from earthly things and switch on to the things of God!
It’s said when we read God’s word we think His thoughts after Him. Like the young boy Samuel we need to be in the presence of God to hear Him speak.
God bless you, may you know His love and His voice in your life today.