So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.' "
1 Samuel 3:9
Before a morning service recently, as part of the preparation before going into the pulpit, I forgot to switch off my mobile phone. There was so much going on at the time that I completely forgot. I was about to find out my mistake though, for in the middle of the Lord’s prayer the unthinkable happened. Yep! You’ve guessed it. My phone started ringing! The phone was in my pocket and I tried to stop the noise the best I could by feeling for the volume control, to put the gadget on silent or switch it off whilst continuing with the prayer, but to no avail. The congregation by this time were looking at each other trying to establish whose phone it was ringing. At the prayer end, I owned up to the fact it was my phone and apologised for the disturbance. For me it was a moment of complete embarrassment, but during the next hymn I managed to switch off the gadget altogether, but I missed the call.
In our reading, God’s call to a young Samuel was not via a mobile phone, it was the live voice of God. The call to Samuel feels so dramatic and was to be a life changing call, an extraordinary type of event. I can understand the predicament Samuel found himself in. He hears a voice that he has never heard before and goes running to Eli in the next room thinking it is he who is calling.
My experience of God’s calling has been much less dramatic, but nevertheless, a couple of times the voice I heard caused me to turn round to see who was speaking to me. This has happened during a church service, whilst driving, during my quiet time and in each setting the calls to me have meant life changing experiences, setting new direction in serving.
Perhaps we could think of a call from God as being similar to that from a close friend. God calling to see how we are doing and to share the good news kind of thing. We look on God as being out there somewhere, but when He speaks, God suddenly becomes very close and personal. Samuel was taken aback when he heard the voice of God, he didn’t know what it was. Three times he heard his name being called, each time thinking it was Eli.
Sometimes we can be like that when we hear the voice of God and it raises the question of what stops us from hearing God’s call, what gets in the way? Perhaps like Samuel, we hear but don’t recognise God’s voice. It’s so easy to think that we already know God and to look for Him in familiar places. Truth is, we can meet with God and hear His call in the most unexpected places. In all situations I’ve learned to give thanks for a reminder to stay open to listen to God’s voice.
Frances R. Havergal writes:
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou has sought, so let me seek
Thine erring children lost and lone.
Keep listening.
Every Blessing on your day
Tom Bonnar
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