A Voice in the Darkness

1 Samuel 3

Samuel lived in the temple because his mom had promised God that if he gave her a son, she would give him back to serve God. Eli the priest was teaching him to serve God.

One night Samuel was sleeping when he heard, “Samuel, Samuel.” He ran to Eli’s room and asked, “Yes, sir, what do you want?”

But Eli was still sleeping. He hadn’t called Samuel. “Go back to bed,” Eli mumbled.

Samuel was just dozing off when he heard, “Samuel, Samuel.” He ran back to Eli’s room. “What do you want?” he asked again.

“I didn’t call you. Go back to bed,” Eli said.

Am I dreaming? Samuel thought. He sat on the edge of his bed trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, he went back to sleep. A gentle voice woke him up: “Samuel, Samuel.”

So he went back to Eli’s room again. “Yes?” he asked. Now Eli knew God was calling Samuel. He told Samuel what to do the next time he heard the voice.

Samuel got back into bed and lay very still, waiting for the voice to speak again. Sure enough, he heard, “Samuel, Samuel.”

“Yes, Lord, I’m listening,” he answered, just as Eli had told him to do. Samuel listened carefully to everything God said. That night Samuel learned an important lesson about listening when God calls.

Becoming a Man of God

A man of God listens for God’s voice.

Samuel was a little boy who heard God call his name. Why would God speak to a child instead of an adult? God looks at a person’s heart to see if they truly love him. He saw that Samuel did, so he trusted Samuel with an important message.

A Verse to Remember

Let go of your concerns!

Then you will know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10