“Speak LORD, for Your Servant Hears!”

“Speak LORD, for Your Servant Hears!”

In 2015, the movie War Room was released nationwide in theaters. Created by the Kendrick Brothers Production company, the movie focused on the power of prayer. It became the #1 movie in America, a feat rarely, if ever, attained by a Christian film. Personally, it changed how I viewed and spent my prayer time.

If you were impacted like I was, you might have gone through every inch of your house, looking for a space to call your “war room.” A quiet place where you didn’t have the distractions or temptations that would lure you away from your prayer time – I’m talking to you, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!

Because we didn’t have any closets to spare, and I am unable to have a “she-shed” in the backyard, I settled on a comfortable chair that I got at the local Goodwill store and set it in the corner of my office.

That first morning, armed with my Bible, my journal, and my coffee, I was ready to begin, only to realize that I had no idea where to begin.

Hearing the Lord Speak

1 Samuel 3: 1-19 tells the aging prophet Eli and the young soon-to-be prophet Samuel. Samuel was the son of Hannah and Elkanah. Hannah was barren and grieved over the fact that she was unable to conceive. After crying out to the Lord and with a promise that she would return her child to Him, he opened her womb, and she conceived Samuel. Keeping her promise, Hannah presented Samuel to the Lord, and Eli raised him.

During this time, there was no communication from the Lord.

No visions. No words. Nada.

Until one silent night, when the Lord awoke Samuel, not Eli, from a peaceful slumber.

Three times the Lord called on Samuel, and each time he heard it, he went to Eli, believing that it was the aging prophet speaking to him,  “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” 1 Samuel 3:7.

Of course, Samuel knew who the Lord was, but up until this point, he did not have a personal relationship with Him.

That was all about to change.

“And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” 1 Samuel 3:8-9

Patient and persistent.

That is the Lord, our God!

Tucked into 1 Samuel 3:9 is the key to starting our prayer time: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” We are His servants, and we are ready to hear His word. 

But What if I Don’t Hear from the Lord?

There will be days in your quiet time that you may not hear from the Lord or receive a prompt from the Holy Spirit, and that is ok! Continue to meet with the Lord daily, create a routine, and stick to it.

Do not give up your quiet time because you think that the Lord does not hear you. That is a lie that the enemy wants you to believe.

The Lord hears your prayers. He hears my prayers. Our prayers will get answered, maybe not in the way we would like, but they will get answered! 

Jeremiah 29:12-13 states, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Open your hearts and minds to the Lord, my friends, and watch Him work in your life!