“Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
Being a parent, I often find myself, in our house, down stairs calling up stairs to one of the family. This calling is not quietly done, it is bellowed out as if I am calling a hearing impaired group of people. Sometimes, I whistle to get their attention. As history can prove, one time is never enough so again the bellowing and whistling continues until someone answers back.
Samuel was not deaf but a young man growing up in the temple of God under Eli the high priest. The Bible says that Eli was hard of hearing so I am sure Samuel knew what it was like to call someone and them not hear him. Often times when someone is hard of hearing they talk louder and don’t get the full story, and you end up saying the same thing more than once with an ever increasing volume. This time the Lord was calling Samuel and when he heard it, he went straight to Eli and said “Here I am”, to which Eli answered and said I didn’t call you go back to bed. Well, the Lord called Samuel a second time and the same thing happened. It was not until the third time that Samuel shows up at the bed of Eli when Eli figures out what is going on, the Lord is calling Samuel. Eli tells Samuel to say “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Maybe you have this same problem. You are not hard of hearing nor are you out of your mind but you keep getting called. Not an audible voice but an inner voice that seems to direct your actions, we call it our conscience. If you have accepted Christ as your savior than that still small voice you keep hearing is the God the Spirit talking to you. Samuel kept going to his current authority figure only to find out that it was not the right place to go. The Bible says that God speaks to us in a still small voice. The Holy Spirit is that still small voice and he speaks to you from the Word of the Lord, the Bible. It took three times for Samuel to answer the Lord.
Today, take a leap of faith and when you hear that still small voice repeat what Samuel said in verse 10 “Speak, for your servant is listening.” More often than not, we keep doing what Samuel did, we keep answering the call of the Lord by going to the wrong sources. Horoscopes cannot guide you, tarot cards cannot guide you, nothing but the Holy Word of God can truly guide you. John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is your life guide. He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of you and guide you into all righteousness. Samuel had to realize that the Lord was his guide not Eli. He had to go back to the same spot three times before he answered the Lord. God wants to tell you something and you won’t get to move forward without listening and answering Him. “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Let It Go 
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