Encounter: Go to a quiet space, take a couple of deep breaths, open your Bible to 1 Samuel chapter 3 and read verses 1 through 11 slowly. Picture yourself in Samuel’s place and then read the verses once again even slower than before. Take note of your experience.
Samuel was a boy and he had never heard God’s voice. When God called to Samuel, he would run to Eli to check on him and see what he needed. However, Eli was not calling for Samuel. God was the One calling Samuel. Verse 1 states that “messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.”
Many would say this is true for us in our time. But, I would challenge this as God is speaking to all of us every day and all the time. The question is; are we attuned to God’s presence and seeking to listen to His message. Now, as I state this, I can say that I have not experienced a burning bush moment like Moses. But God does speak to me in a number of ways through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
God will use images, songs, scripture, a friend or even a stranger, nature, and silence to communicate to us. The key is to be attuned to the presence of God. Verses 8 & 9 in our reading reveal to us that Eli realized that God was speaking to Samuel. Eli had Samuel go back to bed and when he hears the voice calling him simply say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
During the Old Testament times, God chose who he would speak or give visions to. We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives within us to teach, remind, and guide us along our journey to a deeper relationship with God (John 14:26). God uses this gift to speak to us about His nature, about who He is, who we are and what we should be doing.
A couple of weeks ago, I was struggling and having a challenging week. I would pray for answers as to what I was experiencing. Through some scripture during Life Group on that Monday night, God was showing me words such as “freedom,” “chains,” and “surrender.” I was not exactly sure what that meant at the time other than something was holding me in bondage and Gods wanted me to sit with Him and explore this with Him in order to find freedom.
Fast forward to that Friday and Saturday when I attended my Spiritual Director Training Cohort. Friday, we walked through a Lectio Divina using an image (pictured above). Saturday, we did a centering exercise in which God brought together for me more words and phrases to guide me along what He is trying to communicate to me.
His answers may come in one conversation with Him or it may be a journey of multiple days and weeks of communication with Him. But the key to connecting with God and engaging into conversation with Him is an intentional space that allows you to attune to His presence.
This Sunday, we will explore how God calls our name and how we can align our self to Him in order to hear His message for us.
Reflect: Once again, read through the 1 Samuel passage slowly. Did you notice anything stirring within you? If you did, sit with it and and ask God to show you more. Journal or write your experience down. Reflect back to the past week and see if there are any connections to what you are experiencing in the reading. If nothing stirred within you after reading the scripture again, that is okay. God may not be using these words to communicate to you. Reflect back to the past week and take notice of anything that God may bring back to your thoughts. Sit with God about the image or thoughts and write down whatever God may be bringing to your attention.
Spiritual Practice: close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. After a minute of deep breathing, study the picture above. What is your eye drawn to? Scan the picture again and does it land once again to the same area. It could be a color, it could be a shape, it could be anything that is drawing your attention. Now close your eyes again and take a couple of deep breaths. Again, study the picture. What do you see? Is it the same image or color? Write it down. Now close your eyes once more and sit with what has commanded your attention from the picture. Ask God to reveal to you why the shape, color, or image has drawn your attention and ask Him “what does this mean?” After some time and when you are ready, open your eyes and write down anything that came to you during this time. Come back to what you have written over the next few days, and speak to God about this and again write down what God lays upon your heart.
Gather: In your small groups, share with one another your experience with the image and sitting with it with God. Listen to one another intently and without judgement and take notice of what God may be communicating through this person. After a person shares, sit in silence with what this person shared, and see if the Holy Spirit speaks to you through this person. Write it down and revisit it throughout the week. Remember that God will use other people’s words to speak to us.
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