Listen to the Word

1 Samuel 3-5; Psalms 77; 2 Corinthians 8 

“The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel…Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”

1 Samuel 3:3, 4, 7

The lamp of the Lord in the tabernacle was never to go out. Its fire represented the light of God’s presence and spirit. However, the sins of Eli and his sons grieved God so that eventually they experienced “Ichabod,” the departure of God’s glory, or presence, and the ark over which the Glory dwelled (1 Samuel 4:21). It was Samuel who kept the fire of God’s presence and Word continually lit during his lifetime. Once Samuel learned to listen to the Word, God’s revelation extended through Samuel to Israel.

Have we learned to listen to the Word?

The revelation we receive is not just for us, but for our family and our sphere of influence. Pauls’ prayer for the Ephesian Church was that the Father would give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they would know him better (Ephesians 1:17). Like Samuel and the Ephesian Church, we, too, can experience the Lord’s presence and revelation as we learn to listen to the Word.

“Lord Jesus, your revelation is life to me and to your church, for your glory.”