Listening and Leadership

"Me? I'm not a leader.  I don't lead anything," you might be saying to yourself.  Like it or not, we are all examples to someone!

Prayer

Give us grace to follow your lead, Lord Jesus, into good living that brings healing and peace to this broken world.  May others be drawn to your salvation when they see your light shining in us.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

I Samuel 3

Comments

It is a well known fact that effective human communication involves a) what verbal and non-verbal cues are sent and b) how the listener interprets the verbal and non-verbal cues.  A break down in either a or b does not allow people to connect and creates misunderstandings and issues that deteriorate relationships.

Our relationship to God is no different.  How effectively we listen to God's cues determines how well we follow God's lead in life.  It also determines how well we lead others.  So much of our prayer lives is spent talking to God about what we want and what we need and what the world wants and needs.  It is far more challenging to practice listening to God.

Eli, a priest for God, had begun focusing more on the benefit of getting to eat the choicest cuts of meat from the sacrifices the people were offering to God than on listening and obeying God's commands.  He was even allowing his sons to practice the priesthood in ways that did not honor God without correcting them.  I interpret the sentence, "The word of the Lord was rare in those days" to mean that God wasn't being listened to much in those days! 

So God called forth Samuel to be his servant, his leader of the people.  And one of the most important phrases of this whole passage is how Samuel is taught (ironically by Eli!) to address God by saying, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."  Good listeners of God are good spiritual leaders.

You may believe that you are not a leader, but I assure you that you are.  Everyone is an example, albeit a good or bad one, to someone.  Thus, everyone is a leader, like it or not.  The question for all of us is, what kind of a spiritual leaders are we?  The answer to that question rests on how well we listen to God. 

Set aside some time each day, even multiple times a day to pray this prayer, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."  Then be silent for a few moments and see what the Lord says.  THEN go work, parent, husband or wife, play, and lead by how well you follow the Lord.

Life Question

1.  How am I doing listening to God in his Word, the bible, and to his Spirit as it speaks to me in prayer?
2.  How am I doing following God's lead?

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