I'm Listening, Lord!

"Today's Devotion" For January 11, 2006

Read: I Samuel 3:1-10; James 1:22-25

I'M LISTENING, LORD!

"The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak, for Your servant is listening.'" (I Sam. 3:10)

How good a listener are you? If I'm brutally honest with myself, I'd have to admit to being a poor listener, despite my most intense protestations to the contrary. It doesn't help any that in our modern parlance "listening" and "hearing" are often used interchangeably and I get "sooooo confusssssed" in my "old age." Both terms point us to the ability to distinguish sounds and know something was said. We ask people to "listen for it" as we're enjoying a particular piece of music. Then we ask people if they "hear it" when that particular section of the music is played. At other times we say, "You're not listening to me" which can have the meaning on one hand that a child isn't obeying a parent's wishes, or, on the other hand, when one spouse doesn't "get" what the other has said. At other times we ask, "Do you hear me?" when we want to know if someone is "getting" the point, while that same question can be used to find out if another has heard us speaking. If we stop to think about it, I'm certain that we can come up with a myriad of ways we can confuse or overlap the meanings of "listen" and "hear."

It's not so clear, however, that "listen" and "hear" can be used interchangeably in the Hebrew language in which the Old Testament was written. As we read in I Samuel 3 today, the word "listening" is the chosen translation. When Eli realized that God was calling Samuel in the night, he knew that God had something to say to Samuel and that Samuel needed to listen. Samuel already was hearing God calling, but he hadn't as yet experienced God's revelation of Himself to him, and this revelation from God, Eli knew, had to "be listened for" and "listened to."

Yesterday, I heard a devotion given at a monthly pastor's gathering which focused on this section of I Samuel. The pastor who gave it noted that he often found himself not "listening," not only as it regards his parishioners and his family, but also in his relationship with God. We "preachers" are so used to hearing ourselves talk that we often fail to "listen" to God. We want to "fix" every problem that people bring to us and often don't have the patience to "listen for it" - wait to receive God's answer to meet each person's need. Perhaps, it was noted, our "preaching" might be more effective if we "listened" to God more - letting Him guide us in how we minister to the needs of others rather than depending on our own intellectual prowess and personal understanding.

Is it too far a stretch to "assume" that this doesn't only apply to "preachers?" How about you? Are you "listening" to God or only going through the motions? Do you hear God calling, as He called Samuel, nudging him closer and closer to a powerful awareness of His presence in Samuel's life, but find yourself not "listening" to what God is saying? There's no doubt that our sinful nature leads us in that direction every day. We don't like to hear what God is saying about how we should live and what's acceptable to Him. No one is immune from hearing what God is saying - the reading and hearing of the Word - but not "listening" to Him and being obedient. No one is immune from hearing what God is saying - the reading and hearing of the Word - but not "listening" to Him and living our lives so that they point to Jesus.

To be believe in Jesus means that we've heard God's call and have "listened" to Him. As God has called us in Holy Baptism our response has been, as was Samuel's, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening." Each day that same call from God comes to us in our Baptisms and through his Word. Each day He calls us to "listen" to Him and live in His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus. Each day, God calls us to "listen" to Him by sharing His love and salvation for the world in Christ Jesus. An old African hymn really hits this "listening" right on the nose. It's titled, "Listen, God Is Calling":

(Refrain) Listen, God is calling, Through the Word inviting,
Offering forgiveness, comfort and joy.
1. Jesus gave His mandate: Share the Good News That He came to save us And set
Us free. (refrain)
2. Let none be forgotten throughout the world. In the triune name of God, go and
baptize. (refrain)
3. Help us to be faithful, Standing steadfast, Walking in Your precepts, Led by your
Word. (refrain)
[Copyright: Lutheran Theological College, Makumira, Tanzania]

Prayer: Father, I know that I'm not a very good listener. I hear people talking but I don't always listen, often because I'm too wrapped up in myself. However, this only points to the reality that I'm also, first, not listening to You. Certainly, Father, if I was listening to You I would be more willing "listen" to others, "hear" their needs, and serve them by taking them to You in prayer and walking patiently with them in their distress. Father, I ask Your forgiveness and pray that You would continue to be patient with me when i don't listen to You. I thank You that You always "hear" me and "listen" to my prayers. You hear my thoughts and listen to my laments. Father, help me to "listen" as You listen; to "hear" as You hear. Strengthen my "listening" skills so that I might truly serve You and other in Your name, sharing Christ's love in such a way that people might "hear" Your call to the Gospel and "listening" believe. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2006 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.