I CAN HEAR MY SAVIOR CALLING -- Devotional for February 15, from "Good Seeds"

Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant is listening.” (I Samuel 3:10)

Samuel was a hero in the truest sense of the word. He was not above wielding the sword of the Lord when the occasion called for it, but he is best known for wielding the Word of the Lord. Oh, it wasn’t like today where there is a Bible in every home, and in every hotel room! A copy of the Law of Moses could be found in the Jewish tabernacle, but back then God’s message came more through the spoken word than the written word. II Peter 1:21 tells us how it was done: “Men, moved by the Holy Spirit, spoke from God.” But in the time when Samuel came on the scene, the hearts of God’s people had become quite hardened. And just like today, when hearts get hard, ears go deaf. Jesus talked about the uselessness of “casting pearls before swine.” Maybe this is why we read in I Samuel 3:1 that “word from the Lord was rare in those days.” And yet God had a message for His people. The acting priest in the temple was Eli. He had taken on Samuel as his apprentice. But Eli was no prophet. In fact, he had pretty much failed as priest – and even as a father, for his two sons had brought disgrace and shame to the temple, and to the name of God. Word came to Eli through an unnamed prophet that God had rejected his sons, and would raise up for Himself a faithful priest who would intimately know God’s heart and boldly speak His Word (2:35). Now, by definition a priest is one who speaks to God on behalf of the people, while a prophet is one who speaks to the people on behalf of God. Samuel grew up to be God’s man in both roles. But when just a boy, serving Eli in the temple, he did not yet know God. And then it happened. One night, while Samuel was trying to sleep, the Lord came and spoke his name. Of course he thought it was Eli, so he obediently ran to his master. Eli told him, “You’re dreaming, Sammy. Go get a drink of water and go back to bed, there’s a good boy!” The same thing happened a second time, then a third. By now Eli realized this was no mere human happening – this was a God thing! And so he instructed Samuel, “If you hear Him call again, say, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant is listening.” Eventually Samuel became a powerful prophet, but it all started the night he learned to listen to God. How could we think we could ever speak God’s Word without first listening to God’s voice? What about you? Is a word from the Lord rare in Your life? Do you long to be a Samuel, with ears tuned to the key of heaven? Can you hear your Savior calling? Will you invite His voice, and His will, into your heart today?