When God Calls

1 Samuel 3

God called to Samuel, but Samuel did not know it was Him because He did not know God well enough to know His voice. It can be difficult to know when God is speaking to us. But the better you know Him, the easier it will be to recognize His voice. It is also easier to trust Him when you know Him. So, seek to know God. Then, when He calls, listen and obey.

God Calls Samuel – 1 Samuel 3:1-9

Samuel had been ministering under Eli’s supervision since he was a child. Then, when he became a teenager and Eli had grown old, he had his first personal encounter with the Lord. But because individual revelations were rare at that time and it had never happened to him, Samuel was unaware that it was God speaking to him.

Each night, when it began to get dark, the priests would light the lampstand in the temple, and it would burn all night. Eli had his own living quarters in the courtyard and Samuel was sleeping in the temple when he heard a voice call his name in the early morning hours not long before the light burned out. He assumed it was Eli calling to him from outside the temple. So, he got up and went to Eli’s chambers. But Eli had not called him, and Samuel went back to bed. Shortly, Samuel heard his name again and went back to Eli. It was not until the third time when Samuel heard his name that Eli realized what was happening. So, Eli told him that the next time he heard his name he should say, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.”

Though God spoke audibly to Samuel, because he had never had any personal experiences with the Lord, he still didn’t know who He was. Sometimes it’s hard to know when God is speaking to us. We aren’t sure if it’s Him, our own thoughts, or even Satan trying to trick us. We may wish that God would just talk to us like a person so we would know for sure. But this instance with Samuel reveals that even if He spoke to us with an audible voice, if we don’t know Him, we will not know it’s His voice. Because God speaks to our spirit, the voice in our head sounds the same no matter who puts it there. So, the only way to know if it is God speaking, is to know the types of things God would say.

If a stranger called you and could perfectly disguise his voice to sound like your loved one, you would eventually realize it a trick. Even if their voice sounded right, if the words they said and the way they said them were uncharacteristic of how your loved one normally talked, you would know it was not them. Or if someone you loved was kidnapped and forced to call and give you the kidnappers message, they could probably signal to you in some way that they are being coerced by saying something uncharacteristic.

As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. We know the types of things He would say and do, and it is easier to recognize His voice. So, we don’t need an audible voice, and it wouldn’t matter if we had it. We just need to know God better. After you hear His voice once, it will be easier to recognize it the next time. That is what growing in a relationship with Him looks like. It’s just like a relationship with anyone else. The more time you spend with them, the more you ask and listen, the more you watch and pay attention, the better you will know them.

Answering the Call – 1 Samuel 3:10

Once Samuel knew it was God who was calling his name, he was able to answer. So, when God called his name again, Samuel did what Eli told him and replied, “Speak Lord, for your servant hears.” It is important for us to let God know we are listening when He calls to us. Once we realize He is speaking to us, if we don’t listen, we are rejecting Him. So, be like Samuel and answer when the Lord calls.