1st Samuel 3:3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
This passage of scripture deals with the issue of God's literal voice, as it is heard audibly or in our consciences. In this instance, Samuel, being still young, had already began serving in the temple with Eli who had now grown old, and because of his close interaction with all of the services of the sanctuary, he must have had some knowledge of God's voice through the written word, for whenever we read the scriptures, there God's voice is also to be heard. But the literal voice of God speaking directly to him, was another level of communication which Samuel was altogether unfamiliar with, hence the reason why he kept going to Eli, the human agent, whenever he heard God's voice.
This innocent mistake that Samuel made is often repeated in the lives of many Christians, for it is a well documented fact that many of us may study the word of God for ourselves, and we may hear the voice of God speaking to us through the sacred word, but yet we find ourselves going to the local pastor, elder, or bishop seeking confirmation of what God said. Although this tendency may be innocent in most instances, yet it's important that when God speaks to us in His word, that we listen and act upon that which we have seen and heard. Let's read:
Psalm 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. 5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! 6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
However, in the case of young Samuel, the literal voice of God had not been revealed to him as yet, and therefore he needed some guidance in the matter, so as not to confuse the voice of God with that of man. The fact that the passage above states that the word of The Lord was not yet revealed to Samuel, therefore means that this level of communication with God is not something that the human agent can aspire to through practice or will power, for it must be "Revealed" to us, only when God is ready to do so.
Often in our experiences we may hear someone say "The Lord told me", and this may give us the impression that God may have spoken directly to the person in question, but the fact of the matter is that most of us as Christians have not had the literal voice of God revealed to us as yet, for often when we pray for guidance in some matter, we may not be able to clearly discern in our consciences which voice is God's and which is not. Therefore we should exercise great caution and humility when we say "The Lord told me". Let's read:
1st Kings 13:18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
It's important for us to understand however, that in order for us to be ready to hear God's literal voice, we must be accustomed to obeying the written word, for only implicit obedience to the spoken word is accepted. When the word of the Lord was revealed to king Saul, and he deliberately disobeyed what he then heard, The Lord through Samuel revealed to him that his kingdom will not continue, for to disobey the spoken word of God, coming directly from Him, is a very grave sin. This is the reason why an angel was sent with a drawn sword in his hand to block Moses in his journey back to Egypt, for he had inadvertently disobeyed the word of God, by not circumcising his son.
Again, when God spoke directly to Moses and Aaron saying that they should speak to the rock, to bring forth water for the hosts of Israel, Moses in anger disobeyed, and right after doing so, it was declared by God that he must pass through the portals of the tomb, and not enter the land of Canaan, because of the fact that God's audible voice was disobeyed. And although he begged and pleaded for a reversal of fortunes, yet his desire was not granted, because the spoken word of God was dishonored. Let's read:
Numbers 27:12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes"....
Deuteronomy 3:23 And I besought the Lord at that time, saying, 25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan".... 26 But the Lord was wroth with me"... "and would not hear me: and the Lord said unto me".... "speak no more unto me of this matter. 27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
In our day there are many "Wanna be" prophets and prophetesses, who claim that God has spoken directly to them on several occasions, and the people under their jurisdiction are then led to believe that whatsoever comes out of their mouths is as the voice of God. But while this claim is being made, they are observed to be breaking the commandments of God given in His word, by a deliberate or ignorant disregard of the seventh day Sabbath, among others. Thus, the warning of The Lord to us today is to be careful, be very, very careful how we subscribe to bishops and prophets who claim to have heard, and know the literal voice of God, for these deceptions are scheduled to become so rampant, that even the very elect will need to take heed, and be on high alert.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which confirms to us the fact that hearing the literal voice of God, and obeying His word implicitly, are inseparably intertwined, and since practice makes perfect, it is the will of God that we now start by obeying the written word. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; 31 (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!