1 Samuel 3:1-21 Discerning the Voice of God

1 Samuel 3:1-21 Discerning the Voice of God is a sermon about the importance of prayer to discern the voice of God in a matter.

	Chapter 1	Chapter 2	Chapter 3
Failure	Penniah sinks to obscurity	Eli & Sons condemned	Eli’s line is to end
Victory	Hannah has Samuel	Samuel grows great before the Lord before men	Replaced by an enduring house

Be open and available to listen

Then the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”

(1 Samuel 3:4 HCSB)

“HERE I AM” STATEMENTS IN THE BIBLE

Abraham Genesis 22:1 Jacob Genesis 46:2

Moses Exodus 3:4 Isaiah Isaiah 6:8

Ananias Acts 9:10

Be prepared for God to speak as you listen

The LORD came, stood there, and called as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel responded, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

(1 Samuel 3:10 HCSB)

Get rid of distractions and be available “go lie down”

Get expectant in faith “if He calls you”

Get ready to respond “Speak Lord”

Get humble “Your servant hears”

CYCLE OF FAITHFULNESS AND BLESSING

Step 1: Personal Growth “Then Samuel grew” (3:19a)

Step 2: Spiritual Favor

“and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail” (3:19b)

Step 3: Ministry Confirmation

“And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as

a prophet of the Lord” (3:20)

Step 4: Further Revelation

“And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to

Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord” [THE BIBLE] (3:21)

Discerning God’s voice means that I need to get accustomed to listening to His voice. The best way to do this is to listen to what He has already said in His word.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash