Shadows danced across the floor as a small flame flickered on the far side of the room. The caretakers of the temple had retired for the evening, and a peaceful umbrella of silence had settled over the small band of sleeping priests. There, just a few yards away from the Ark of the Covenant slept young Samuel.

Pulling his blanket into his chest, Samuel opened his mouth in an euphoric yawn and gently rolled over to his side. The hypnotic glow of the oil lamp had gotten the best of him hours ago, as he sank into a deep slumber. Then, a strange voice broke the silence of the temple, calling, "Samuel." Immediately his eyes sprang open, he sat upright and replied, "Here I am." Running to his mentor Eli, Samuel asked what he could do for the old priest. "I did not call," replied Eli, "lie down again." Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the child excused the voice as a dream and returned to his mat.

Just as Samuel surrendered consciousness once more, the voice returned calling, "Samuel!" Surely this was not another dream or fantasy; after all, the voice had been loud enough to penetrate the walls of adolescent slumber. Again, Samuel shot up in bed and ran to his teacher saying, "Here I am, for you called me." Bewildered, and perhaps a bit annoyed, Eli again replied, "I did not call, my son, lie down again." So Samuel returned to his bed a second time, unsure of whose voice he had heard.

As Samuel settled down again, his mind began to wander. "Who is it that keeps calling me?" he thought. Confused and restless, the boy nestled snugly in his bed and drifted into sleep. Shortly after, Samuel heard the voice calling a third time, "Samuel." As before, young Samuel jumped to his feet and returned to Eli for directions. This time, however, Eli showed greater sensitivity to the activity of God. He instructed the lad, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’" How strange to imagine that it was actually the Lord who was calling! The rush of excitement and curiosity made it nearly impossible for Samuel to return to bed.

Later, lying on his mat in the temple, Samuel again heard the unmistakable sound of someone calling his name. This time, the call came twice, "Samuel! Samuel!" His eyes shifted from left to right as he sat up. "Just where is that voice coming from?" he thought. "Could this really be the Lord God? What on earth would He want with me, a simple apprentice?" With a trembling heart and quivering lip, Samuel responded as Eli had instructed, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

These six words changed Samuel’s life forever. With this humble acceptance, Samuel opened his heart and mind to a lifetime of instruction from the Lord. For the next eighty years, God spoke intimately with Samuel, through whom God established a dynasty, brought down enemy nations, anointed kings, and humbled Israel. For most of his life, the words of Samuel were respected as the words of God, for he was God’s prophet. It is amazing to think that the entire nation was affected by one boy’s midnight acceptance of God’s call.

Have you ever wondered how frightening it must be to truly ask God to speak His mind to you? How often do you ask God to speak, but do so with the expectation of hearing God say exactly what you were already thinking? Do you ask God first, or do you approach God after you have already decided what you want to hear?

Here, Samuel asked, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." The boy had no idea what he would hear, and in fact, the message was an indictment against Eli, Samuel’s surrogate father. Was this the message that Samuel expected? No. Was it the message that Samuel wanted to hear? No. Yet, did Samuel ask God to speak His mind, and then follow God’s direction even though it was difficult? Praise God, yes he did.

God spoke to and through Samuel because he made himself available. The Lord’s call may have intimidated Samuel, but it did not scare him away. Very often, God’s call can be obtrusive and disrupt your life to the very core. However, how much greater it is to have a pile of rubble marked with God’s fingerprints than to have a mansion wholly untouched by God! Have you asked God to speak to you? Have you surrendered yourself to the shocking changes that God may bring in your life? Take a lesson from Samuel: when you hear God calling, seek out godly counsel, but do not forget to ask God Himself to clarify the message. It may just change your life.

–Allen Harris