AUGUST 19

1 Samuel 3:9

The telephone rang, and Mollie ran to answer it. It was her friend Claire. The girls had not seen each other for a long time, and they talked for quite a while. After they had hung up, the phone rang again. This time it was a very important business call for Mollie’s father. After several other calls came that evening, Mollie laughed. “It’s a good thing we have a telephone,” she said, and everyone agreed.

“You know,” said Dad when they were all gathered for family devotion that evening, “those phone calls remind me that God often calls, too, and He expects us to listen and obey what He tells us.”

“God calls? Does He have a telephone,” asked Bobby, Mollie’s little brother. Mollie laughed. “No, silly,” she said, “but He has other ways to call us, doesn’t He, Dad?”

“How?” Bobby wanted to know. “Uh-h-h-h… yeah, how?” asked Mollie.

“One way is through His Word,” suggested Mom. “Sometimes He uses it to show us things that are wrong in our lives. Other times He uses it to tell us things we should do or to offer comfort or encouragement.”

“Right,” agreed Dad. “He may also use people-a parent or a pastor or teacher-to speak to our hearts. Sometimes He teaches us something special about Himself. He likes to talk with us.”

“Like when Claire called me today,” said Mollie. “We just wanted to talk to each other.”

“That’s right,” said Dad. “Your call was pleasure, and my call was business. In each case, we were available to listen to and talk with the caller.”

Mollie thought about that. “And is that what God wants us to do, too?” she asked after a moment. “Be ready to listen to Him?” Dad and Mom both nodded. “To listen to Him and to talk with Him,” said Dad. “God’s call is the most important one we can get, so we had better be listening for it!”

Thought: God speaks to us through His Word.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may I be faithful in reading and applying the truths in Your Holy Word in my life. And help me to take time each day to talk to You in prayer, too! This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.