"How God Speaks To Us "
I Samuel 3:1-11
by Dr. Michael H. Browder

March 12, 2009

We have an interesting story in our scripture lesson today. It is the call of the young boy Samuel. You recall that, for many years, Samuel’s mother had not been able to have a child. She promised God that if he gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord. And so, at a very young age, she took him to the temple to be raised as a priest. She even gave her son the name Samuel, which means: “the Lord heard [my cry and answered me].”

Young Samuel is living towards the end of the age of the Judges of Israel. It is one of those periods when people had fallen away from God. The Bible says that, for this reason, the word of the Lord was not heard very often anymore. The irony is compounded by the fact that the priests are sleeping on the very altar of God in the Tabernacle. This should be the place where God speaks to them. Instead, it is the place where they snooze! Talk about being asleep on the job! (I hope we don’t have preachers who are like that today.)

Clearly, there is a message in this for you and me. Are we asleep on the job while God is trying to speak to us? Do we go to Church, and read the Bible, and hear the Word proclaimed while we are essentially sleepwalking? Aren’t we very often exposed to the things of God without ever allowing them to penetrate our hearts?

And then the Scripture says another interesting thing. It says the lamp that symbolized God’s presence had not gone out yet. God was still there. They may have been asleep. They may have been unaware. They may have forgot-ten. But God was still there. You and I may fall asleep to the things of the Lord. We may forget. We may wander in other directions. But God is still there. He is there to be found. And he is speaking to anyone who will listen.

So, Samuel is sleeping there in the temple, when he hears a voice, calling his name. “Samuel, Samuel!” I wish you could hear the sound of it in Hebrew. It is so beautiful. The voice cried, “Sh əmu’el! Sh əmu’el!” laeÞWmv. laeÞWmv. And Samuel answered, ynINE)hi “(Look!) Here I am!”

Now, the young boy Samuel thinks that his guardian, the old priest Eli, is calling him. And so, he runs in, and wakes up Eli, and says, “Did you call me?” And Eli, grumpy and half asleep, says, “No, boy. I didn’t call you. Go back to sleep!”

And Samuel does as he is told. But then, he hears the voice a second time. “Samuel! Samuel!” And he runs to Eli again. And Eli says, “Boy, I told you I am not calling you. Now, will you please go back to bed and let us all get some rest.”

But then, it happens a third time. Samuel knows that somebody is calling him. By now, the old priests Eli may have begun to wake up a little bit. And his mind recalls something that he has not witnessed in a long, long time. He remembers the days when the Lord used to speak to people. And he realizes that God is calling to Samuel.

Here is an important point for us to remember also. God often puts people in our lives to mentor us in the faith. When we wonder what God is saying to us, it is good to have someone that we can go to for guidance, someone who has experience in walking with God, and in hearing the Lord’s voice.

Eli realized that it was God who was speaking to Samuel. And so he told the boy, “Go back and lie down. And when you hear the voice call you again, answer, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”

What a great answer! What a good prayer! You and I ought to pray that prayer too. - And we ought to pray it often: “Speak Lord, for I am here to be your servant. I am listening to what you tell me.”

Samuel went back and lay down again. And when he heard God’s voice call him once more, “Samuel! Samuel!” he answered just what Eli told him: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” And the Lord said, “I am going to do things, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. And I am counting on you, Samuel, to be my voice and my prophet.”

And we know that God went on to do just that. The Lord spoke through Samuel, who became the greatest prophet who ever lived. It was Samuel who anointed the first king of Israel, Saul. And it was Samuel whom God sent to find the new king, David, when Saul had gone astray.

Samuel became the greatest prophet of all time, because he was able to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. My friend, when you and I are able to say those words, the Lord does great things through us. Not by our own strength, but because God can use people who are willing to listen and serve.

So God spoke to Samuel in the Old Testament, and he is speaking to you and me today. How does the Lord speak to us? Even if we do not hear voices, are there ways that He speaks?

Yes! In the first place, God speaks to us through the Bible. In Psalm 32:8 the Lord says, “I will instruct you and lead you in the way you should go.” And, of course Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against thee.

If you are reading God’s Word in the Bible every day, God is going to speak to you. - Make no mistake about it. You may not get hit by a lightning bolt, but you will certainly get clarity about how to live your life, and what your priorities ought to be.

Often God speaks to us during our time of prayer. But we need to pause and give him a chance to speak. Can you imagine the person who goes into the doctor’s office and says, “Doc, I’ve got all these problems. My back aches. My head aches. My heart is out of whack. I’m having trouble with my eyes. I feel like I have the flu. I’m counting on you to fix all this. Oh my, look at the time. I’ve got to go! Thank you for seeing me.” And off they go.

As they rush off, the doctor is probably saying to himself. “Well, if you had just stopped to listen, I could have told you some things that would help you.”

Isn’t that just like our prayer life though? “OK, God. Here is my list of things for you to do. When you get that done, I’ll give you some more. Gotta go!” If we would only just stop and listen, God could speak to us, and help us.

Sometimes God speaks to us through other people. That’s why we need to have Christian friends. We need to be surrounded by people who are going to give us good advice, Christ-like guidance. – People who live their lives by asking: What would Jesus do? It’s not just a slogan, it’s a way of life.

Sometimes God speaks to us through common sense. The Lord has given us a mind to think things through in a reasonable way. He has given us a conscience. These resources are meant to be a great benefit to us, if we will just use them in the way that God intended. John Wesley, the founder of our Methodism, said that God usually guided him by presenting reasons to his mind for acting in a certain way. God gave you common sense. He gave you a conscience. Use it!

So, God is speaking to you. He is speaking to you through the Bible. He is speaking through worship and prayer. He is speaking through godly friends and through good judgment. God is calling out to you. He is calling you by name. Will your answer be: “Leave me alone. I just want to go back to sleep!”

Or will your answer be: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”