Our Proper Response to God
We must always remember that God is All-powerful and All-Wise. There is nothing He can't do except the wrong thing. God can and does communicate with us. He can choose to do it in any of a number of ways. When He speaks to a believer, we know His voice. Any time we hear from God we must be careful to respond in the proper way. I believe the Bible shows us that our attitude to God's communication, determines what He communicates with us and how He does it. We see this truth perfectly in the life of young Samuel. Even before he came to know the Lord, God approached him one night before he went to sleep. God called his name, but Samuel thought it was Eli calling him, since he had not heard from the Lord directly before. Eli finally realized who was calling Samuel, and he taught him how to respond properly. (I Samuel 3:10) He told Samuel to listen for the Lord and when he called his name again to say, "Speak, for your servant is listening." We need to remember this and practice the same thing.
As believers, we should long to hear God speak to us each day. It will not usually be in an audible voice, but it will be clear, however He speaks. Our attitude should be as a person who is hearing from a dear loved one. We should hang on every word or every image the Lord gives us, like we are reading a love letter. Our attitude should be to soak up the message and to quickly respond well. Of course, our response should be respectful, but much more than that. We are hearing from our Loving Lord, so we respond as a servant. We are wanting to understand His instructions and to carry them out completely. Even as we seek to fulfill God's desires, we are listening for more instructions, because we know He wants to direct our paths. When we respond like this, the same way Samuel responded to the Lord, we are liable to be in constant contact with the Lord for extended periods of time. He will see a willing servant accomplishing His perfect will. That is the kind of person with which God loves to communicate.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 5-7.