1 Samuel 9:9 (NKJV)
“(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)”

This has been a repeated theme in our devotions, and the Lord seems to be bringing it back to us again. There was a time when, if the people needed to hear from God or know the mind of God, they had to go to a particular location, to meet a particular person who would reveal to them what God was saying. In today’s passage, the verse begins with the word, “Formerly.” That means that this was a practice from the past that continued on to the days of Saul and Samuel. Whenever anyone needed to “inquire of God” in those days, they would travel to meet the prophet or seer, or wait until he comes to their city. Thank God for the former days, but are we expected to continue to live in those patterns? Are we supposed to depend on seers and prophets to know God’s mind for our lives?

To be clear, we do need men and women of God who can manifest the gifts of the Spirit. We do need men and women of God who are sent by God to build His Body, the Church. But what we do not need are spiritual babies who constantly must depend on others to hear God and walk with God on a daily basis. What we do not need is a venerated spiritual position for a few men to hear God for the people of God. What we do need is a community of men and women who are constantly growing in hearing the voice of God and are learning to understand the mind of God for themselves. Yes, there will be times we need some gifted spiritual leaders to counsel us and teach us and show us God’s mind in specific issues. We need this service as part of God’s plan to help His struggling children. We do not demean this. But what we must not develop or promote as a spiritual pattern, is spiritual dependency.

Spiritual dependency is cancerous to the Body of Christ. What it does is create an unhealthy dichotomy in God’s community, where a few are permitted to hear God, and others wait for them to speak for God. This may have been an Old Testament practice, but we don’t see this in the early churches. In verse (15), the Bible says, “Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying,” Imagine the intimacy of that encounter. The Lord told Samuel, “In his ear.” This is God’s purpose for each one of us. God’s desire is that we can “hear Him” – directly and by His Spirit, who indwells us.

I know that we sometimes hear Him, but I am challenging each of us to desire the kind of growth that allows us “hear Him” all the time. It is your right. It is your privilege in Christ. It is God’s promise to you. This is my cry for my life. I need to walk with my Lord in such a way that knowing His mind for my life should be a natural experience. Is that your desire as well?