Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #108

Know God's Voice

1 Samuel 3

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 9-10) "So Eli told Samuel, 'Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' ' So Samuel went lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' "

My Thoughts

Samuel did not know God's voice yet at the time Samuel 3 takes place. So when God was calling Samuel this night, Samuel did not realize it and thought that it was Eli calling him instead, who, incidentally, was getting old and would probably be a normal thing for someone that age to be calling out for someone in the night.

This happened three separate times where God had called Samuel, Samuel ran to Eli, and Eli said that he didn't call him and told Samuel to go back to bed. The third time, Eli realized that it was God calling Samuel and told him to answer God the next time God called him. So Samuel did exactly that and God told him what He needed to tell him.

Sometimes God calls us as well and we either ignore it, don't realize it, or we don't recognize God's voice, as Samuel. So how do we get get to know God's voice? We get to know the voice of God by reading His word and talking to Him. It's only logical that when you're talking to someone, and the more you do, you get to know their voice better and better. So it is with God.

We need to come to know God's voice so that when we hear Him, we don't give second thought because we know that it is Him. There have been many times when I am not sure if I got something from God or not and I have to think about it for a minute. Sometimes I am just totally unsure and I pray about it and ask God to make it clear to me whether it was actually Him or not. If it was, it usually ends up staying in my mind for a bit and if it wasn't, God takes it away.

Get to know God more personally. Get to know His voice by reading His word often. My blog here is really just me sharing my thoughts on what I personally read. I cannot say that I am totally correct in everything that I say here because I am only sharing with you guys what I got from reading a particular passage in the Bible. I encourage you guys to read on your own and see what God tells you.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #57

Making a Vow

1 Samuel 1

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 10-11) "In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And she made a vow saying, 'O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon 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." (v. 20) "So in the course of time Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the Lord for him.' " (v. 28) " '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."

My Thoughts

I talked a bit about making a vow or a promise in my post on how God always keeps His promises. This one focuses on our end, rather than on God's. It is still the same as before that we need to be careful when making a vow. A vow is slightly different than a promise, it is more binding. With a promise, you are just saying that you will do something, but with a vow, you are giving something up.

There are two ends of a vow, one is the promise made with words and the other is the payment of assurance of the vow. Does that make sense? I am trying to explain in my own way, so I hope it is understandable. The example from this passage is that Hannah wanted a son, but her womb had been closed. She made a vow to God that if He were to give her a son, she would give her son back to God. So in this case, Hannah wanted something, and her vow was that IF God gave her what she wanted, she would do something in return.

God fulfilled Hannah's request and she conceived and had a son. Hannah had no choice but to fulfill her end of the vow, and she kept her end faithfully. A vow can also be made that you, in a round about way, give collateral as assurance that you will fulfill it. Bargaining and making a vow are similar, but the difference between them is that a vow is a sacred thing and consists of, usually, two people, like in that case of a marriage vow. Also, a bargain is just a plain deal that is made, whereas a vow is expectant of greater things in the end.

Vows are complicated things to explain. What I want to say though, is that we need to be careful when making a vow. If you know you won'f be able to fulfill it, then you shouldn't be making it. If you do make a vow, you need to be careful to keep it. A marriage vow is probably the most common vow people make, and there are probably tens of them made each day. It is still one of the most important vows people make. Marriage is a sacred thing and the vows that are made are sacred as well and should be kept that way.

Always be careful to keep any vow you make, be it marriage or anything else, and don't make promises or vows that you won't be able to keep.

Previous PostNext Post

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!