Have you ever tried to speak with someone who wasn’t listening to you?  That was what Samuel faced when he tried to talk with Eli about God speaking to him several times one night.  Eli seemed to be a distracted listener.  Samuel had a circumstance he wanted to discuss with Eli and didn’t want to be ignored or not given undivided attention.  God is the same way and wants our full attention and listening.  Samuel was listening to God, but Eli was not listening to Samuel.  The closer we walk with God, the clearer we will hear his voice and not be distracted.

Every driver’s manual clearly states that distractions are the major cause of traffic accidents.  Today, texting, reading emails and talking on a cell phone are the most common.  There are many other distractions such as eating, looking off at something and cosmetic application.  When we are distracted, we need something to get our attention.  Have you ever been driving, not paying attention and you suddenly become aware of a red light in front of you?  You become alert, avoid the distraction and maybe even saved from disaster.  God made us this way with what is called the “Reticular Activating System” in the brain.  You have one and it has probably saved you many times from harm and disaster.  It is a specific area in the brain that activates our attention to become alert and to bring us back to concentration on the present.  When we are distracted in our Christian walk, God must do something to get our attention.  He does this by the Holy Spirit (God’s Reticular Activating System) which brings us through the distractions of the world.  Today, we could become distracted by COVID, the recent election or our cultural decline.  When we walk with Christ, listen to His voice and trust Him, the distractions around us will become less threatening.  We must never become a distracted listener to what God is saying to us. God is not a distracted listener to us, so we should not be a distracted listener to Him.