1 Samuel 3:1-10
At the end of the period of the judges (by Samuel's time), Israelite society had degenerated to horrific violence and apostasy. The people had turned away and did what they thought (rather than what God had said) was right, chasing after their own desires and seeking sensation/sensuality and fulfillment in anything but God.
It's building up a tolerance to evil, dulling the moral senses and clouding perception. Even the priest Eli's senses were dulled (physically as well as spiritually) and let his sons engage in such evil as to bring judgement upon them and their family (2:22-36, 3:11-14). It, then, is no surprise to learn that "in those days messages from the Lord were very rare". Almost no one was listening, very few wanted to and so they couldn't.
Samuel was not like that. He was serving God and not his own desires. He was sensitive to God's calling and he responded in faith. We need to be more like him. As I've let go of this world and embraced God, I've felt more sensitive to everything. That which didn't fase me before is overwhelmingly terrible now, disturbing even, and the things of this world are equally unsatisfying. On the other hand, things of God are more satisfying and I feel His presence more tangibly. The subtleties of His communication are more apparent. When I let it, His voice comes in quite clearly.
I used to expect God, demand Him to yell over the spiritual noise in my life. At times He did but more often I had to tune my hearing to Him. He shouldn't have to yell for me to hear anymore than I would have to yell for Him to hear me. Still, time and again I have to shut out the world and fight for such silence within and without to hear. It seems easier to keep the noise than bear the silence as I adjust but His song is always sweeter, more beautiful and more...real. Like Samuel, we need to live in service to God rather than ourselves. If we let go, we'll be able to hear God was speaking all along.
