Dangerous Prayers (p.2) – Speak, for your Servant is Listening

Dangerous Prayers

1 Samuel 3

Samuel was only 11 or 12 years old and he worked for the priest Eli. The problem was that Eli had not been honouring God with his life and one night God spoke to Samuel and gave him a tough assignment.

In the bible was there ever a time when God gave someone an easy assignment? Jonah, Noah and Mary, were they easy assignments? No! Every time God speaks and gives someone an assignment in the bible it stretches their faith. So it is a courageous prayer to say ‘God speak to me’ as it will convict you, challenge you and stretch you. When you hear God speak it’ll teach you to depend on him like never before.

Don’t pray this prayer unless you really want to hear what God wants to say and prayer is not just talking to God but it’s also listening. God is always speaking, the question is are we listening?

How do you hear the voice of God? Some practical ways to hear from God:

  1. Be still
    • Psalm 46, this tells us how we can experience God’s presence and hear from him.
    • This fights against everything in our culture, to rush and be busy, but when did you last stop, pause and spend time in God’s presence?
    • And some of us may be asking will I hear an audible voice of God like Samuel? Probably not, but here are some of the ways God can speak to us:
  • Through the bible, it’s living and active. It will speak to us, correct, guide, encourage and lift us up.
  • Through people, a sermon, a song or a conversation with a friend, God can speak to us through those around us.
  • Circumstances, God can open doors we thought were impossible, but sometimes he closes a door. At the time we might not understand why, but later we’re happy that it was closed as we can see it was God leading us.
  • Through the Holy Spirit, as a follower of Christ the Holy Spirit is in us and God will guide you and lead you through the Holy Spirit. It will be these unusual promptings, a sense that somethings right to do. You may not be able to describe it but you’ll know it’s God.
  1. Be willing to do whatever God asks you to do
    • Often we come to God with a long list of asks and it’s good to cast our burdens onto God, but what about sometimes coming with a blank piece of paper and just asking God to speak.
    • But make sure you have obeyed what God has already asked you to do. Sometimes we feel like there’s a block and God’s not guiding us and sometimes God doesn’t show you the future because you haven’t done what he’s already asked of you. Do what he has shown you to do, be obedient to his promptings and then he’ll show you what to do next
  2. Be ready
    • When God speaks, make sure you’re ready to do what he says.
    • God asked Samuel to speak this difficult message about God’s judgement to Eli and to the nation. It’s a dangerous prayer to pray ‘Lord speak your servant is listening’, as when God speaks you’ll feel unqualified and scared, but we need to be ready to act.

There’s so many distractions in the world and we don’t always set aside time for the Lord, we try to do it on our own. But it’s time to change and say Lord here I am, your servant, I am listening. This week let’s pray ‘God speak to me, your servant is listening’ and let’s be still, be willing and be ready.

But don’t pray this if you don’t want to hear what God has to say, as it will be challenging and convicting and something that may seem impossible. It’s a dangerous prayer but it’s also exciting.