And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. 1 Samuel 3:8
The Holy Spirit leads us through the 'Inward Witness. But He can also speak to us. He can make His will clearer to you by speaking 'strongly' to you. Remember that the Holy Spirit is a spirit. If He is a spirit, then it means that His voice will also be spiritual and can only be discerned through our spirit. That means that the voice of the Holy Spirit is directed to our spiritual ears and not our natural ears. When the young Samuel heard the voice of the Lord in the temple, it seemed like a real voice to him. It sounded to him as a normal voice and that was why he went to Eli the priest to make enquiries. Eli obviously did not hear the voice, although he was in the same temple as Samuel. This kind of leading of the Holy Spirit does not happen all the time and to everyone. But it happens. When it does, it will be as if somebody has spoken to you. Sometimes it is strong enough to wake you up with a start from your sleep. Normally, it repeats itself, as it was the case with Samuel who heard the same voice calling him three times. It is interesting that Samuel who heard the voice of the Lord had no idea that God was speaking to Him. There's something to learn here; that many a time God speaks to us but we have no idea that it is His voice. It took the discernment of a more spiritually experienced person to alert Samuel to the import of what was happening to him.
Prayer: Lord, help me discern Your voice when You speak.
Scriptural Reading:1 Samuel 3:1-9
