15 January 2020 - speak, your servant is listening

Today's Readings

(Audio)

When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
the LORD came and revealed his presence,
calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Do we give the LORD space to speak to us? There is so much noise in this modern world. There is so much we can be doing, hearing, watching, or saying. We sometimes complain that we don't hear from God. But don't we? What if he is speaking and we don't recognize his voice because it is merely one among so many? Samuel needed to provide this space for the LORD in order to hear him. So too do we. After all, Jesus tells us that his sheep know his voice (see John 10:27). We are meant to hear and know the voice of Jesus. But if we don't stop to say, "Speak, for your servant is listening" there is the real possibility his voice will be lost in the noise.

Rising very early before dawn,
he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Even Jesus shows us the importance of giving God silent spaces into which to speak. One might think that the second person of the Trinity wouldn't bother, being united to the Father wherever he went, no matter by whom he was surrounded. But he did go to the trouble, did so all the more when circumstances were overwhelming from a worldly point of view.

Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

It is OK to spend time with God even when the whole village is at the door with various diseases and demons. The more fundamental thing is to spend time with God. If we do not make this centrally important to us we become less effective in our missions. If we do choose to prioritize it we are even more effective when we go forth from solitude to serve. We are even more tuned in to our purpose. We become a sharpened blade in the hand of the LORD (see Isaiah 49:2-3). Listen to how clear Jesus is about his own purpose:

"For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons
throughout the whole of Galilee.

Without time apart we quickly lose the sense of purpose driving our actions. Let us quiet ourselves and come to him. We don't have to do anything complicated. We just need to give him the space to speak.