The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:1-10 NIV)
Some of the simplest things are the hardest to do. Like listening. Are you a good listener? Listening is harder than it sounds. No matter whom you’re listening to, how often don’t you have the urge to cut them off and share your opinions and your ideas? Yours are better, right? Isn’t it more satisfying to have others listen to us than to listen to them? This is kind of embarrassing to think about. How often do you have to ask someone else to repeat what they said, because you weren’t paying any attention? How often in conversations are you always thinking ahead to what you’re going to say when you finally get the chance to speak? Listening is harder than it sounds.
Do you know who’s the best at listening? God. There’s a tender story in the Bible about Hannah. Have you heard Hannah’s story? Hannah was a believer in God who couldn’t have children. It hurt. She longed for a child! What made matters worse was that her husband had another wife, and that wife—Peninnah—had lots of children. She rubbed it in Hannah’s face: “Look at all my children. Too bad you don’t have any.” That’s what Hannah had to listen to. Year after year, Hannah went to worship God at the tabernacle—the church—in Shiloh. She cried and wept and poured her heart out to God again and again. And God listened! God gave Hannah a son, and she gave her precious son a special name: Samuel. Samuel means, “God listens.” He sure does!
But then Hannah did something strange: She gave her son back to God. When he was old enough, Hannah brought Samuel back to the tabernacle and dedicated him to a life of service there. As much as she loved her son, Hannah loved her God who listens more. This was strange. Love God even more than your child? That didn’t happen much in those days. In fact, our lesson tells us that “in those days the Word of the Lord was rare.” But that didn’t bother Hannah. She didn’t care what anybody else was doing. God came first, and she dedicated her son to God. So Samuel, even as a little boy, served God with Eli the priest at the tabernacle. He even slept there!
That’s where our story starts. Samuel was sleeping in the tabernacle, when he heard someone call his name, “Samuel!” How do you react when someone calls your name in the middle of the night? You wake up with a start! So picture this boy. He heard his name, “Samuel,” and woke up. “What? Here I am!” But there was nobody there. So he ran to Eli the priest. “Here I am; you called me.” Many of us know how Eli must have felt too! Suddenly there’s a little person next to your bed in the middle of the night… Ahh! Eli said, “I did not call. Go back to bed!” So Samuel did. But it happened again. The voice, “Samuel!” Run to Eli. “Here I am!” “Go back to bed!”
Then it happened again—a third time! But instead of getting impatient, Eli finally caught on. This must be God! I bet his heart started pounding. “It must be God!” So he told Samuel, “If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” Samuel went back to bed. Do you think he fell asleep? No way! Can you imagine the anticipation? “God himself is calling me!” Wouldn’t that be cool? Samuel waited for the voice to come again. I bet it seemed like forever!
But then God spoke again. Listen to this cool description: “The Lord came and stood there, calling as the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’” God came and stood by Samuel’s bed. I don’t know how that worked. It sounds amazing! And he called Samuel by name, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel said what Eli had told him: “Speak, for your servant is listening.” Isn’t this a great story?
Let’s take it a step further. I told you what “Samuel” means, remember? “God listens.” Samuel’s relationship with God started with God’s grace in listening to his mother’s prayer for a son. God listens! But now whose turn was it to listen? Samuel’s! When the Lord looks for someone to serve him, he looks for people who listen to God’s voice. Samuel went on to become one of the greatest prophets in the Bible. The secret to Samuel’s success as a prophet was not that he excelled in speaking, but that he knew how to listen. God doesn’t need our great ideas. He’s looking for listeners. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” That’s what a Christian says.
So whose voice are you listening to? This is where it starts as Christians. Followers of Jesus are people who listen to God’s voice. Who say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” But imagine you were to make a chart of the voices you listened to over the past week. In your free time, when you got to choose, how much time did you spend listening to the news? Netflix? Talk radio? Sports announcers? Pop music? God? I think we would be embarrassed to see a list like that, wouldn’t we? 12 hours of Fox or CNN or ESPN and 1 hour at church. 16 hours of social media—that’s the average per week in the U.S.—and no time for the Bible. Does it matter? Maybe we don’t need God as much as people used too. Or maybe we’re neglecting God’s voice.
How excited do you think Samuel was when he went back to bed the third time and waited for God to call him again? Do you think his heart was pounding? “God’s going to speak to me! I can’t wait. This is awesome! God is actually going to speak to me!” Know what? God still speaks. He speaks to us in the Bible. How exciting is that! How can our hearts not race? “God wants to talk to me!” What if when God called, Samuel had said, “Ahh, I’m too tired. I’ve got a big day tomorrow. Maybe another day…” He’d be crazy! So how do we get so used to saying “No” to God’s Word? We’re too busy. Too tired. Too many activities. God understands, right?
No, God doesn’t understand. He doesn’t understand at all! I hear this idea a lot: “I can be a Christian without hearing God’s Word. Don’t worry about me, Pastor, I believe in God. I’m just not into that Bible stuff.” God says, “No. That’s impossible. Absolutely impossible.” You can’t be a Christian without hearing God’s Word, because “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). A Christian who doesn’t hear God’s Word is like a plant that doesn’t get water. Over time, what happens? It dies!
Here’s an example. Do you know what message God gave to Samuel that night? It’s not what you’d expect. This sounds like a cute story: A little boy hears God’s voice. But do you know what God actually said to Samuel? God told him that he was about to judge the priest Eli and his family, because Eli’s sons were godless, immoral men, and Eli had refused to discipline them (see 1 Samuel 3:11-14). That part usually doesn’t make it into children’s Bible story books! Even the priest of God and his family were not listening to God’s Word. So they were going to be judged. To be cut off. That’s what happens when you don’t hear God’s Word. Judgment. Hell!
That’s scary to think about, isn’t it? “In those days the word of the Lord was rare…” Imagine a place where people die without the comfort of God’s promise of heaven. Imagine a place where sin is praised, where sexual immorality is laughed at, where greed goes unchecked. Imagine a place where people are so used to not hearing God’s Word that they don’t even notice it’s gone. Where people disrespect authority and mock their opponents and kill babies and change genders and despair over everything. You don’t have to imagine. It’s called the United States of America. You want to know what happens when we stop listening to God’s voice? Just look around.
Now put yourself in God’s shoes. When you realize that you’re talking, but nobody’s listening, what do you do? You stop talking! That’s what God should do. Just stop talking to us. Maybe he will. Maybe someday he will take his Word away from us. But he hasn’t yet. By grace, God still speaks to us in his Word. He has so much to say! What do you think will come up this week? Race? “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Division? “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). There’s nothing like God’s voice.
A few years ago, I read a book by a man named Nabeel Qureshi. Nabeel grew up as a Muslim. He was raised in a caring Muslim family. He was absolutely convinced that Islam is the only true religion and Allah is the only true god. And then he met a Christian named David. They became best friends. For five years, David gently pointed Nabeel to Jesus. Over and over again. But Nabeel refused to believe it. He heard all the arguments. He learned why Jesus’ resurrection is a historical fact and how Jesus claimed to be God. But the arguments didn’t change his mind.
Until one night in despair, he pulled out his Quran and started to read. But he realized something. There was no comfort. There was no grace. Just command after command. Do this and do that! So, reluctantly, he pulled out the Bible that David had given him and started to read the Gospel of Matthew. And he couldn’t put it down. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Allah doesn’t say that! “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). For the first time in his life, he was hearing the true voice of God. He couldn’t stop reading! He read the Bible until 3 a.m. And the next day and the next day… After years of arguments and doubts, God’s Word changed his heart and life.
Do you need that? I saw a post on Facebook that said, “If you find yourself irritated, you’re spending less time with God and more time with the world.” Of course, at that moment, I was irritated and anxious—and on Facebook! I need more time listening to God’s voice. Need hope? “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). Discouraged? Jesus says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Feeling guilty? “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). God’s still speaking. He’s calling out to us all the time in the words of the Bible.
And here’s what a Christian says, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Jesus once said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). “My sheep listen to my voice…” Maybe this week, turn off the TV. Put down your phone. Stop talking. And listen to Jesus’ voice in the Bible. He’s calling you! You could start with the Gospel of Matthew—just like Nabeel did. You’ll find comfort in your Savior Jesus that you won’t find anywhere else. Maybe you’ve ignored him before. God is patient and gracious and persistent. He’s still calling you. He hasn’t given up. Here’s what you say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
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