“…Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears…” – 1st Samuel 3:9 (ESV)
Young Samuel heard a voice calling his name in the night. Three times he ran to Eli, thinking the old priest was calling him. Finally, Eli discerned the truth: God Himself was speaking. Samuel simply didn’t recognise His voice yet. Eli instructed him to say: “…Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears…”
That posture changed the entire course of my life.
I did my YWAM Bible school in Barbados back in 1995. Promises were made to help from my homeland. I trusted those promises and moved forward in faith. But in the end, financial support never materialised – the money never came. I was left desperate, far from home, with no way to pay.
I remember waking up very early those mornings, before the sun rose, walking and crying out to God. Not polite prayers. Desperate prayers. “Speak, Lord, because I need to hear You right now.”
And He spoke. Not audibly, but unmistakably. I found money lying on the road more than once. I distinctly remember hearing Him say, “Look down,” and there it was. I visited churches during that season, and strangers I had never met would walk up to me, hand me an envelope, and simply say, “This is for you.” No explanation. Just obedience to a voice they’d heard too.
God was teaching me something that has carried me for over thirty years: He speaks to those who position themselves to listen.
When I returned to Guyana after that season, my home church offered me a stable job. Everyone expected me to take it; it made sense, it was secure, it was safe. But I had heard God clearly say He wanted me to serve with YWAM as a volunteer, trusting Him for provision. I said no to the job.
I had learned to distinguish God’s voice from the voice of logic, comfort, and fear. Choosing to obey the voice I heard in Barbados, those early mornings became the foundation for three decades of faith-based ministry.
My question: “Are you really listening? Not just praying words into the air, but pausing long enough to hear His response and courageous enough to obey it, even when everyone around you thinks you’re crazy? Are you?”
Prayer
Lord Jesus, quiet the noise in my life that keeps me from hearing You clearly. Like Samuel, I want to say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” Teach me to recognise Your voice above logic, fear, and others’ opinions. Give me the courage to obey what I hear, even when it looks foolish to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Read: Isaiah 50:4; John 10:27
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 109:1-20; Galatians 5:7-26; Isaiah 47; Isaiah 48; Isaiah 49:1-7