It was one of those weeks—cluttered with noise, burdened with endless to-dos, stretched thin with distraction. Sitting alone at the large wooden table in our familiar coffee shop on Whidbey Island, I found myself lost in the swirl of my own busyness. The world hummed around me, yet I felt distant, untethered.
Then came the question—gentle yet piercing, one that refused to be ignored.
“Are you following Jesus? Are you truly a follower?”[1]
I knew the answer I wanted to give, the one my heart longed to be true. But honesty whispered otherwise.
“No,” I admitted. “Not well. Not this week.”
It felt like my soul needed a reset, like a phone running too many apps, frozen by overload. Then, in the quiet, a voice—steady, kind, unmistakable:
“You’re not listening to me.”
Learning to Recognize God’s Voice
But there is something of an intermediate step that many of us seem to forget or ignore. In 1 Samuel, I see young Samuel asleep in the temple when he was awakened by someone calling his name, “Samuel, Samuel.” Thinking it was the priest, Eli, he said out loud, “Here I am,” and ran to Eli to offer whatever assistance he needed.
Eli told him twice, “I didn’t call you”. The third time it happened, “Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy,” and gave the instruction to “Say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” He did and received a word from the Lord for the first time.
It was said of this prophet, “The Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” I want that. I know you want that.
Listening Is a Practice
I can’t give you three steps to guarantee that you will always hear God’s voice, but I can give you two essential insights into Samuel.
- Samuel needed Eli to help him know the voice of the Lord.
“Without Eli, Samuel would not have known that God was speaking to him. Without John the Baptist, John and Andrew would not have looked at Jesus. We have to listen to the people in our lives…”[2]
- Samuel needed to practice listening. You might say, “Listening isn’t all that difficult; I do it every day.” But we come to know God as our Abba only as we learn to practice listening. It isn’t as natural as hearing sounds.
“To follow Jesus, you have to be willing to say, ‘This half hour I’m going to dwell with Jesus. I know I will be distracted. I know I will have 100 thoughts and a million things to do, but I know that you love me and invite me, even when I am antsy and anxious, I am going to dwell.’
Be with him and listen. Listen to the one who invites you. Be quiet. Like a child dwells in the house with her father and mother. Just dwell. Play around. Be there. A half hour a day. Is it possible? Is it possible for half an hour? Just be there. Sit there and do nothing. Waste time with Jesus. This is what love does. Love always wants to be with her lover. You want to be there. Enjoy it.”
“It is so good to be here with you, Jesus.” (Mark 9:5)[3]
Practice:
What if following Jesus is a daily practice of listening for his voice in the stream of our ordinary lives? Today, set aside a few quiet minutes simply to be with him. Resist the urge to accomplish anything. Instead, pay attention. Listen. Then consider this: Who is an “Eli” in your life—someone who has helped you recognize God’s voice? Reach out to them, or invite a trusted friend or mentor to help you discern what you are hearing from God.
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Keith Anderson, D.Min., is a Faculty Associate for Spirituality and Vocation at VantagePoint3 and President Emeritus of Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging and Sacred Purpose (Wipf & Stock, 2024). His other works include Reading Your Life’s Story (IVP, 2016), A Spirituality of Listening (IVP, 2016), and Spiritual Mentoring (IVP, 1999). In his writing, teaching, and mentoring, Keith seeks to set a table for people looking to enter the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul” in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.
[1] Henri JM Nouwen, Following Jesus: Finding Our Way Home in an Age of Anxiety, p. 11.
[2] Nouwen, p. 25
[3] Nouwen, p. 27.