At tonight’s Prayer Gathering, Tori Newman reminds us that prayer is not just talking to God but also listening for His voice. Like Samuel, we’re called to quiet ourselves, tune in, and respond, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” This message was recorded live on August 24th, 2025.

Tuned In: Learning to Listen to God in Prayer

Prayer is often misunderstood as a one-way conversation where we present our requests to God and then move on with our day. But what if there’s more to it? What if prayer is meant to be a two-way communication where we not only speak but also listen?

The Story of Samuel: When God Calls

In 1 Samuel 3, we find a young Samuel serving in the temple under the high priest Eli. One night, as Samuel was lying down to sleep, he heard someone calling his name. Thinking it was Eli, he ran to him saying, “Yes, I’m here. What do you need?” Eli responded that he hadn’t called him and told Samuel to go back to bed.

This happened three times before Eli realized what was happening. It wasn’t Eli calling Samuel—it was God Himself. Eli, having experienced God’s voice before, recognized what was happening and gave Samuel crucial advice:

“Go and lie down again. And if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.'”

When Samuel heard the voice again, he responded as Eli instructed: “Speak, your servant is listening.” This opened the door for God to share an important message with Samuel about what was about to happen in Israel.

Why Do We Need Mentors in Our Spiritual Journey?

This story highlights why we need people in our lives who have been where we’re going. Eli immediately recognized God’s voice because he had heard it before. His experience allowed him to guide Samuel through this new spiritual experience.

Without Eli’s guidance, Samuel might have continued to misunderstand what was happening. Similarly, we need spiritual mentors who can help us recognize God’s voice and teach us how to respond when He speaks.

Is Prayer Just About Making Requests?

Have you ever been to lunch with someone who talked non-stop until you finished your meal? No one wants a relationship like that—where it’s completely one-sided and the other person is just waiting for you to take a breath so they can speak.

Yet sometimes that’s exactly how our prayer life is with God. We’ve taken the phrase “make your requests known to God” and interpreted it to mean that prayer is just about presenting our wish list to God. We’re like delivery people dropping off a package: “Hey, I got a package for you. Okay, bye!”

But God desires relationship. While He absolutely wants to hear our requests—He loves us as His children—He also has things He wants to communicate to us. Prayer isn’t just busy activity; it’s meant to be active in both requesting and listening.

How Can We Hear God’s Voice?

The challenge for many of us is learning to pause and create space for God to speak. We’re so accustomed to filling our prayer time with activity—reading, worshiping, and making requests—that we rarely stop to say, “God, do you have anything you want to tell me in this season? What are you preparing me for in the next season?”

Here are some practical ways to create space for listening:

• Set aside time specifically for listening, not just speaking
• Write down what you feel God is saying (some people use cursive writing to slow down their thoughts)
• Keep two pages open—one for what God is speaking and one for random thoughts that pop up
• Create moments of silence where you’re not focused on the words of songs or activities around you

What Happens When We Don’t Listen to God?

When we don’t take time to listen, we miss out on God’s guidance, preparation, and wisdom. In Samuel’s case, God was preparing him for something shocking that was about to happen in Israel. Without that preparation, Samuel would have been caught off guard.

God often wants to prepare us for what’s coming, comfort us in what we’re going through, or redirect us when we’re heading the wrong way. But if we’re not listening, we miss these crucial messages.

Life Application

This week, I challenge you to intentionally create space in your prayer time to listen to God. Start by setting aside just 5-10 minutes where you say nothing but simply listen. You might begin with Samuel’s words: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”

As you practice this discipline of listening prayer, ask yourself these questions:

• When was the last time I felt God was speaking directly to me? What did He say?
• What distractions typically prevent me from hearing God’s voice?
• How might my relationship with God change if I spent as much time listening as I do speaking?
• Is there a specific area of my life where I especially need God’s guidance right now?

Remember, prayer isn’t just about making our requests known—it’s about developing a two-way relationship with our Creator who longs to speak to us. Just as Samuel needed to learn to recognize God’s voice, we too must tune our hearts to hear what God is saying.