Recognizing and Responding to God’s Voice • Deshen Daily

And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth (1 Sam. 3:10 KJV)

I have never met a genuine Christian who does not long to hear God’s voice more clearly. Besides hearing, there are two crucial aspects to hearing God’s voice: recognizing and responding.

In this brief devotional, I will not discuss the crucial foundations of hearing God’s voice yourself. Please ensure you download our free mini e-book “How to Receive Rhema: 6 Powerful Insights to Instantly Improve Your Ability to Hear God’s Voice”.

When God speaks to us, we must recognize the voice as God speaking to us. However, recognizing God’s voice is the beginning of our problems today. In the Old Testament, God called Samuel with an external audible voice. Samuel heard the voice and thought it was Eli calling Him—He did not recognize the voice he heard. Today, the number one problem Christians have in hearing God’s voice is removing the stronghold in their minds that God’s voice will always be an audible sound, as Samuel heard.

As discussed in “How to receive Rhema”, God speaks differently to us today, and our hearts are our ears.

God’s voice demands a response from us. When God spoke to Samuel, He did nothing else until Samuel responded appropriately and said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth” (1 Samuel 3:10). Sadly, people sometimes hear God’s voice and respond negatively. For instance, some people hear God’s voice and harden their hearts in disobedience. They refuse to do what God tells them to do.

This is the good news: as Eli taught Samuel to recognize and respond to God’s voice, we can also train our hearts to hear, recognize and respond appropriately to God (1 Samuel 3:9).

Learn to recognize God’s voice to you and respond.

Meditate

Has God ever spoken to you? What comes to your mind when you read this question?

Apply the Word

This is the heart of today’s devotional: you can train your ears to hear, recognize and respond to God’s voice. Why wait anymore? Put these truths to work.