1 Samuel 3:10

And the LORD came and stood forth, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel” And Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hears.”

Sometimes God is silent.  Other times, perhaps far more often, God is not silent.  He’s merely waiting for our chatter to subside.  Other times, God speaks and we think it was “merely” our neighbor talking or a “coincidence” or an idea that is “outdated” or “radical” or some other dismissive buzzword.  Samuel was called by God twice before he figured out it was God and not some creature talking.  When he finally realized it might be God speaking, he took the sensible course of action and stopped chalking the voice of God up to a creature or a natural phenomenon or a hallucination.  He offered God, not his opinions, but his ears.  Today, ask God to speak.  When he does, say to him what Samuel said: “Speak, for thy servant hears.”