Dangerous Prayers: Speak to Me!
I Samuel 3:1-21
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
01-10-2021
We are in the last of the series of messages called “Dangerous Prayers.”
The first week, we saw that Isaiah’s response to experiencing God presence, his own sinfulness, and God’s amazing grace, was to say, “Here am I. Send me!”
Last week, we studied Psalm 139 and saw that David understood that God loved him completely and knew him intimately so he could pray the dangerous prayer, “Search me.”
This morning, we will be looking at another incredibly dangerous prayer - Speak to me!
Turn with me to I Samuel 3.
Prayer.
Text within the Context
It will help us to understand the passage to look at the text within the context.
There was a man named Elkanah who had two wives named Hanna and Peninnah. Polygamy was not God’s intent for marriage but it had become common in that time.
Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah but Hannah had not had any children. This would have caused Hannah a sense of shame in that culture. On top of that, Peninnah had many children and constantly mocked and tortured Hannah.
One day, Hannah was at the Temple and she was weeping and praying quietly to herself:
“And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” (I Samuel 1:11)
Eli, the priest watched her for a while and walked over to her and accused her of being drunk!
Hannah replied,
“Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the Lord. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” (I Samuel 1:15-16)
Eli answered,
“Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” (I Samuel 1:17)
Hannah became pregnant and named the boy Samuel, which sounds like the Hebrew for “heard by God.”
When Samuel was about three, she took him to the priest Eli. She sacrificed a bull and then said to Eli:
“Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.” (I Samuel 1:26-28)
Hannah would visit him each year and bring him a robe she had made. And Samuel grew up under Eli’s care and ministered in the temple.
The Silence
“The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.” (I Samuel 3:1)
Jewish tradition says that Samuel was about twelve years old at this point. So he had been living with Eli for nine years and ministering in the Temple.
There were not many prophets and God had withheld His word as a discipline for the spiritual apathy and darkness that characterized Israel at this time.
But this was about to change!
The Call
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Eli was nearly blind and was past the age (50) of being able to do the work of the Temple. He had gone to bed.
Samuel was actually sleeping outside of the Holy of Holies where the ark of the covenant was located.
This wooden box overlaid with gold contained the Ten Commandments, a golden pot of manna, and Aron’s rod that budded in the Egyptian court. It represented the presence of God among his people.
The lamp of god had not gone out which means it was somewhere in the middle of the night.
Samuel would have been responsible for lighting the lamp and making sure it didn’t go out until dawn.
There is another interpretation of this phrase. The lamp had not yet gone out. It was spiritually dark but God was about to bring a prophet on to the scene that would shine the light of God’s Word throughout the land.
God called Samuel by name. I love that! He called him personally.
He know your name. Remember from last week, he created you in your mother’s womb (see Psalm 139:13-16) He knows every hair on your head. (Luke 12:7).
God called Samuel three times. Each time, the boy got up and ran to Eli and asked what he wanted.
The narrator tells us in verse seven that Samuel “did not yet know the Lord. The Word of the Lord had not yet revealed to him.”
Samuel lived in the Temple, he did religious things at the temple but he didn’t have a relationship with God yet.
Brian Bill and I were able to go to a large church in the suburbs and see a prescreening of the “Passion of the Christ” movie before it was released. Mel Gibson was there and was interviewed by the pastor.
As the interview progressed, shockingly, Mel was not able to articulate the Gospel and couldn’t really explain why he made the movie. The pastor actually ended up sharing the Gospel with Mel Gibson.
It’s possible to have Churchianity without Christianity.
When Samuel came running the third time, Eli “realized” it was the Lord calling. This is a combination of the fact that the word of the Lord was rare and Eli’s spiritual numbness.
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” (I Samuel 3:8-9)
Then the Lord showed up!
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” (I Samuel 3:10)
It’s interesting that God calls to Samuel twice. This is a pattern in the Bible
Abraham, Abraham (Gen 22:11)
Jacob, Jacob (Gen 46:12)
Moses, Moses (Exodus 3:4
Samuel responds as Eli directed him to:
“Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (I Samuel 3:11)
Let’s pause her for a minute and consider what prayer really is.
Can you hear me now?
We often say that prayer is simply talking to God and that’s true. But that’s only part of it.
Imagine that you only talk to your spouse and never listen. (Some of you might have been accused of that already!) The relationship wouldn’t grow much if all you did was talk and never listened.
There are many sayings that my children will remember me for but the number one is probably “Listening is a skill.”
There’s a reason this is so important to me.
In the very first class I had in seminary, we will challenged to memorize a Scripture that would be the guiding principle of my ministry and my counseling.
“To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.” (Proverbs 18:13)
Most people are terrible at listening. Have you ever talked to a person who you know that they weren’t really listening to you? Isn’t it frustrating?!
The story is told that President Franklin Roosevelt had grown tired of the endless reception lines. He said that no one listened to him anyway.
He decided to do an experiment. To each person he extended his hand and said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.”
To his dismay, people responded with, “great job! Marvelous! God bless you!”
That is until the ambassador to Bolivia came through and lean in and whispered, “I’m sure she deserved it Mr. President.”
In prayer, we’ve got to learn to listen to God voice. But how does God speak?
How does God speak?
I’ve only heard the audible voice of God once in 30 years. It was in Florida, going over the bridge to the island where the church was, and I heard, “You will nit be here long” as clear as any voice I’ve ever heard.
This is extremely rare and, truthfully, I really didn’t believe God talked to people that way until it happened to me.
Let me very clear on this. The number one way God speaks is through his Word. When people say to me that they haven’t heard God’s voice, I always ask, “Where’s your Bible?”
Next week, we are going to focus completely on this way that God speaks in a sermon entitled, “How to Eat your Bible.”
This is from a book of the same name and the author, Nate Pickowicz, will join us by video to encourage us to eat our Bibles this year.
The Bible is the way we grow spiritually. If you are not reading your Bible, what is your growth plan?
What other ways does God speak?
Circumstances
In 1993, Maxine and I made the crazy decision to move from North Carolina to Mississippi to attend seminary at Reformed Theological Seminary. We had no money and a lot of faith but also a lot of fear.
On the way there, we stopped in Atlanta and stayed with Maxine’s parents and attended church that Sunday. It’s a very large church and there were several hundred people in the Sunday school class they attended.
The teacher of the class did not know us and didn’t even know we were there.
He introduced the lesson and said that we were going to watch a video that would strengthen our faith. The video was about a couple that went to seminary on faith!
Maxine’s mother turned in the middle of the video and said loudly, “Do you need more?!”
God can speak through circumstances.
God can also speak through people.
People
After Maxine’s mother died we had a celebration of life for her. Steve Brown, the President of Key Life Ministries, and a dear friend of Lu’s gave the sermon and then several people shared, including me.
Afterwords, we were talking to Steve and he said in his rich baritone radio voice, “Young man. Are you preaching every week?” And told him that I only got to preach a few times a year.
Then he said this to me:
“Some have the gift and others don’t. Jefferson, you have the gift and you should be preaching every week.”
That sentence echoed in my soul for almost 15 years until I became pastor at this church and now I preach every week!
As many of you know, I nearly quit ministry for good. I met with a ministry friend of mine who is the pastor of a very large church and he asked me a question that literally changed everything.
He leaned in and said, “Are you done or are you tired?” I had to be honest with myself and admit that I was tried and not done.
Very often, God speaks through my wife. In fact, I think that He gives her the wisdom to make sure I’m listening to her!
Maxine had been absolutely resolute that we were done with ministry. When she said, “Well, maybe” to the opportunity to become pastor here that was a huge sign for me.
You may say that God doesn’t speak to me through friends. Maybe it’s because of your friends aren’t spiritual encouragers.
Heart Postures
Let’s look at three heart postures that we need to prepare us to listen for God’s voice.
1. Be Still.
We live in a world of noise and distraction. In the midst of the chaos, we must find a way to quiet our souls to listen to God. ?
Psalm 46:10 tells us to “be still and know that I am God.”
Jesus told us in His most famous sermon:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:5-7)
When is the last time you simply sat down with your Bible and a cup of coffee in a quiet place and said, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening?”
The more you listen to God’s voice the more you be able to discern it.
2. Be Willing
Once God does speak, it’s important that we be willing to do what He calls us to do.
Let’s pick the story back up in verse 11:?
“And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” (I Sam 3:11-14).
Samuel was not given an easy assignment. By the way, who in the ?Bible was?
Noah build an ark. A what? Because it’s going to rain. Rain?
Moses lead millions of people out of slavery and into the Promised Land.
Mary and Joseph - I want you to be the parents of the Messiah.
Samuel was to speak a word of condemnation to his adopted father Eli.
Eli had two sons Hophni and Phinehas who were evil:
“Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord....This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.” (I Sam 2:12,17)
They not only did what they wanted with the offerings they also had had sex with women at the tent of meeting.
And Eli? He was too weak to control his sons:
"Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.” (I Sam 2:22-25)
Samuel is about twelve years old and he is giving a message of doom for Eli.
But God’s assignment might not be that intense. Maybe He will tell you to go visit a widow down the street, or pray for that guy at work that drives you nuts. Maybe it will include serving in the nursery or the sound booth or as a greeter.
Whatever it is, be willing to obey.
3. Be ready
God wants us to be willing to obey no matter the cost.
“Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
“What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you.” So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said,
“He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.” (I Sam 3:15-18)
Samuel was up and down all night and it says that he “lay down until morning.” It doesn’t say that he was asleep.
Can you imagine hearing the voice of God and then as a twelve year old having to confront Eli? He was afraid.
I’ve been there. Multiple times I’ve had to confront men who were committing adultery on their wives. Each time, my heart has been pounding but I said a quick prayer and spoke truth.
In every one of these instances, my words completely fell on deaf ears. It was heartbreaking but I was willing to say it no matter the cost.
But Eli understood that God had spoken to Samuel and told him to hold nothing back. Eli didn’t hear from the Lord and I’m sure he was really curious about what God said.
Commentators are divided on the tone of verse 18.
Was Eli being fatalistic and saying, “Well, He’s God and He will do what He wants?”
Or was it sincere? Was it a sign of repentance and acknowledgement of his failures as a priest and a father?
We aren’t sure. All we know is that there is now a new prophet on the scene!
“The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.” (I Sam 3:19-21)
In the beginning of the chapter, the word of the Lord was rare. At the end, “all I Israel from Dan to Beersheba [from north to south] knew that a prophet was among them.
How do you know it’s Him?
How do you know it’s God’s voice and not just the burrito you ate last night? Or your own voice? Or just what you want?
I was home one time in Memphis and was engaged to Maxine. An ex-girlfriend called me and asked to meet me at a local park.
She sat cross legged on a picnic bench and very seriously told me that I was making a mistake and that God told her that I was supposed to marry her.
I was a fairly new Christian and she was much more mature spiritually than me. For an instant, I was totally befuddled.
Then I smiled and said, “If that was true, don’t you think that He would have told me too?”
Here are a few filters we need to pass the information we receive through:
1. Does it agree with the Bible?
This is the most important filter. God will never tell you anything that contradicts His Word.
I’ve had people tell me, “God told me it was okay to leave my wife for my new girlfriend.”
No He didn’t.
God told me it was okay to have sex with my girlfriend before marriage.
No He did not!
God told me that I didn’t have to pay taxes, that I didn’t need to go to church, that it was okay to cheat on that test.
Nope. That’s not God.
If it doesn’t agree with the Word, it’s not of God.
2. Does it make you more like Jesus?
If the message you get is one of revenge, retaliation, judgement, gossip, conflict, bitterness, envy, strife, selfish ambition, it is definitely not of God.
Rick Warren points to James 3 as a great filter:
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17)
Is what God told you going to lead to peace? Is it considerate? Would it harm anyone? Will it lead to you being more humble? More forgiving? More loving? More gracious?
3. Do the wise people in your life confirm it?
What do the people you trust most say?
“The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26)
This is why being an active member of church, Bible studies, and small groups are so important. It’s why we need mentors and accountability partners.
Before I said yes to the call to this church, I talked to each of my mentors and asked if they thought this was the right thing for Maxine and I? Did it fit my gifts? Was it something that I could do?
Each one of them affirmed the call to Chenoa Baptist Church.
Do you have a cadre of friends that you can share what God is teaching you where He is leading you?
4. Does it lead to conviction or condemnation?
The voice of God will bring conviction. Conviction is about correction, exposing what is wrong and what needs to change. It is done out of love. It is specific and clear.
If you are hearing condemning voices, it is not of God. The enemy of our souls will attack your value, tell you that you are worthless, and try to bury you under a dark cloud of guilt.
Paul makes it clear that this is not from God:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1)
Jesus took our condemnation so we can have eternal life!
Fuzzy transmission
Maybe you would say that you have never experienced the voice of God in any of the ways I’ve described today.
There may be two very good reasons for this.
First, you may not be able to hear His voice because you do not have the Holy Spirit, you are not born again.
Jesus said,
“Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:47)
And in chapter ten:
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4)
Without the Holy Spirit, you do not have the spiritual antennae to hear the voice of the Lord.
That can change today!
The second reason that you may not hear the voice of the Lord is because of sin.
I was at a conference once with a youth pastor that snored loudly. Maxine packed ear wax plugs that would help me sleep. I put them in and slept well but when I woke up they were gone. I just figured they had fallen out of my ears in the night.
We went to a new state of the art conference center and I called my dad and told him that is was beautiful but the sound system was muffled.
Can you guess why? I ended up at the hospital and they had to remove the plugs from my ears. Once they did I could hear again!
Sin is like those ear plugs. It makes it hard to communicate with God:
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)
But God can clean the sin out of your life so the conversation can continue:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Ending Song: I Won't Move
