Samuel was a great prophet and leader of the nation of Israel, yet his life came out of relative obscurity. Similar to the humble experiences of Joseph who came from a pit and a prison, and David who came from shepherding flocks, Samuel came into God’s service as a result of his Mother’s prayers.
Samuel learned a valuable lesson at a very young age; he learned to discern the voice of God. If you recall the story, he was awakened in the night by a voice calling him. He though that it was Eli the priest, but Eli taught him to understand that it was God himself, speaking to him. Samuel learned to approach God as his servant and to simply say; “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”
A question that comes to my mind is whether we can truly be a servant if we are not listening to the master. If we do not listen, how can we know his direction? We risk running around trying to do what we think he wants of us, but may be missing it all together.
Perhaps we need to simply slow down, quiet our hearts and ask him to speak…then just listen.
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