Speak LORD, Your Servant Is Listening

In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the LORD under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the LORD, and visions from him were quite rare. One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room; Samuel was sleeping in the sanctuary, where the sacred Covenant Box was. Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning, the LORD called Samuel. He answered, "Yes, sir!" and ran to Eli and said, "You called me, and here I am."

But Eli answered, "I didn’t call you; go back to bed." So Samuel went back to bed.

The LORD called Samuel again. The boy did not know that it was the LORD, because the LORD had never spoken to him before. So he got up, went to Eli, and said, "You called me, and here I am."

But Eli answered, "My son, I didn’t call you; go back to bed."

The LORD called Samuel a third time; he got up, went to Eli, and said, "You called me, and here I am."

Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy, so he said to him, "Go back to bed; and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’" So Samuel went back to bed.

The LORD came and stood there, and called as he had before, "Samuel! Samuel1"

Samuel answered, "Speak; your servant is listening."

1 Samuel 3:1-10

How often do you "hear" what the LORD has to say to you, through scripture? When we first become Christians, it is a joy to read and study the Bible. Its words speak to our hearts. They are like music to our ears. We are thrilled as God’s plan unfolds and is outlined right there in the Bible. But in time, reading the Bible can become routine to a point where we neglect to read it entirely. One day we will wake up and realize what we have been missing.

Learn to read the Bible and listen to God speak to you, through the Bible.

The more we read the sacred pages, the better we know the rock of ages.

Our Daily Bread – September 26, 2002