Discernment: Paying Attention to God

In today’s first reading, 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, 19-20, Samuel is awakened three times. Each time he thinks that Eli, his master, is calling him, so he goes to Eli, awakens him and says: “Here I am; you called me.”   Finally Eli realizes that it is the Lord calling him so he says to Samuel: “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’.”   Note that it is in the dark of night. It is silent and, more importantly, Samuel, too, is silent, not distracted by the busyness or distractions of the day.  Furthermore,   Samuel relies on an elder, a trusted individual, to show him the way, as he” was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to him as yet.”  Jesus, in today’s Gospel, after a very busy day, rises “very early before dawn,” and goes off to a deserted place to pray—a place apart from the busyness and distractions of His life.

Both Scriptures teach us the circumstances that prepare us to hear God's voice and ways to pay attention to the Spirit:

1. In the quiet

2. Seeking counsel from:

    a. Persons of integrity

    b.Our elders who live lives of integrity (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, counselors)

    c. Trusted friends/peers who live lives of integrity

    d. Persons devoted to the service of the Lord (priests, deacons, women religious, men religious, 

        spiritual directors who live lives of integrity)

3. In deserted places

4. Choosing a time to go apart to listen to God, such as before dawn as Jesus did

What circumstances do you create in your life to hear the voice of the Lord as you discern God's will for you to walk God's way in your daily life, to choose your vocation in life, to make other significant decisions?