Finding the Right Spiritual Frequency

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Sam. 3:10)

I’m old enough to remember when people listened to music on the radio. You couldn’t pick a specific song or artist like you can on today’s streaming services. Instead, you first chose what genre of music you wanted to hear. If you wanted to hear country music, you had to tune to that specific frequency on the radio dial—same for rock, classical, or Christian music. Once you tuned into the right frequency, you would then hear the songs and artists the deejay chose for their listeners to hear. If you waited long enough, depending on its popularity, you might hear the specific song you were wanting to hear.

When God first called Samuel, Samuel didn’t recognize who was calling him, because he was tuned to a different spiritual frequency. He wasn’t listening for God, so he assumed it was Eli calling. Once the spiritually depleted Eli finally figured out what was happening, he was able to give Samuel useful spiritual guidance: “Don’t tune in to my voice; tune in to God’s frequency.”

Christians often don’t “hear from God” because they are either tuned in to the wrong frequency or they are only listening for a specific message they want to hear. Listening to God involves being tuned to the right spiritual frequency, plus being willing to hear whatever message God has for you, even if it’s totally different than what you were expecting.

Dial your spiritual frequency to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice.

Kevin R. Scott is an editor for Wesleyan Publishing House and author of ReCreatable and Awakening Faith. He loves spending time with his wife, Debbie, their four children, and two grandchildren.