Speak, Your Servant is Listening

The time was around 900 B.C., sometime after the division of the nation of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms in 931 B.C.........So, pretty long time ago.

"In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions"........ Samuel's mom had given her son back to the Lord, to serve the priest, so Sam lived with him. Eli ,the priest, was getting old. It was time for bed and Eli was lying in his usual place. They had not yet put the lamp out. Samuel was lying down, too- they were in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was....."Then the Lord called Samuel."....Sam ran over to Eli and said, I'm here, what is it? Eli told him he hadn't called him and instructed Sam to go back to bed......"Again the Lord called, 'Samuel!'".......Sam got up, went over to Eli, do you need a drink of water or something, because I'm right here and I can get you whatever you need. Eli said, Sam you must be losing it, because I haven't been calling you, son......"Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him."

This went on until, finally, the third time, Eli realized the Lord was calling Samuel. He told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.'"......So, Sam went and lay down on his mat.....

"The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" "Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Samuel became a great leader for the people of God.

The time is 2009 A.D.- present day- the time is NOW......

She was living a hard lifestyle. She did not yet know the Lord. A friend took her to a revival meeting. Radical. She liked radical. That's why she went. The Lord called her name, her heart ached, she cried tears. What was happening? She heard the voice of the Lord and she answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." That was 30 years ago. She serves Him wholeheartedly to this day. She's raised a big family of children, faithfully teaching them daily about the love of Jesus.

She had gone to church all her life. And Sunday school. Youth group. But the commitment to the instruction of His word was not in her. She made bad choices. She still looked good. Bad choices. Everyone else was. She went to a gathering on campus- Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Give your life to Jesus? What does that mean. She'd probably heard about it before, but hadn't been listening. Now. She heard the voice of the Lord and she answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." That was many years ago. She loves Him and her heart is committed to him, still. She keeps learning.

He was raised in a Christian home, was read the word of God as a child, was surrounded by believers and received a Christian education. He was obedient. He made good choices. One day, at church, when he was seventeen, the pastor's wife gave a message. She said, "We are where we are, so that Christ may be there, also." He heard the voice of the Lord. He understood the purpose of his life, the gift of it. He answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." He reevaluated his plans. He serves the Lord today, reaching out to teens in the lost and broken, current culture they are forced to navigate. He is twenty-two years old.

She did not grow up in a Christian home. She did not know the Lord. You know the direction in which we all float, in the absence of Biblical conviction. It was the same for her. She discovered God's word. She read it. That's all. She. Read. It. She heard the voice of the Lord and she answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." She remains faithful to the One who is enough- her strength, her provider, the lover of her soul. She stands on his promises today.

God is alive. Giving life. Gracious and good.

The stories above are all true. One is mine. One is yours. Today I am praying for the one who does not know the One, from whom all blessings flow, that he or she may meet him soon- may hear the voice of the Lord and answer:

"Speak, for your servant is listening."

All are one in Christ Jesus-