34
“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
[The next 8 verses are the Lord sharing a vision with Samuel that was difficult for Samuel to tell others. But Samuel is faithful to share it with Eli and not hide God’s words—making him a true prophet.]
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”
--- 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-21
I LOVE this story of God working and I can see how God would work in parallel ways today. I’ll keep my own thoughts short though and encourage you to ask the Lord yourself to speak to you. Three short observations for you:
1)Eli knew the Lord well and was able to recognize His voice calling Samuel.
2)Samuel came with a humble heart, ready to learn.
3)Samuel treasured the Lord’s words and never let one go unheard.
I pray for each of us know the Lord so deeply that we readily recognize His working in our friends’ lives and I pray that we would be bold to point them to Christ. And I pray as we meet with the Lord, that we treasure His words so dearly that not a single one passes us by.
One last gem to share with you that was shared with me by my dear friend and mentor Robin...it is an acronym that can be used when reading scripture and making observations about a passage: