Samuel can you hear me call?

1 Samuel 3

1. Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 4. The Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” 5. So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down. 6. Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”  7. (Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.) 8. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy.  9. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.” 19. So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.  20. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. 21. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Although Samuel had grown up in the tabernacle and served the Lord before Eli scripture says that he did not know the Lord and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him. He ministered to the Lord before Eli – thus Eli was his covering under which he ministered to the Lord but he personally had not yet encountered the Lord. How many years do we spent ministering unto the Lord without knowing Him. Believing in Him and knowing Him is not the same thing. By His grace He saves us as we declare that we believe in Him and His forgiveness. We repent from our former lives and choose to follow Him thus we are accepted into His Kingdom.

But there is more that the Father desires for us. He desires for us to know Him, to hear His voice and to follow where He is calling us to. Obedience results in intimacy with Him and this in turns results to a revelation of His voice in your life as well as those around you. The Father searches for us to listen and obey His desire is to make Himself known to us but this He can only do when we are ready and willing to hear Him.

Our prayer is that you will find Him – the One that is calling your name in the night time. That you will respond to Him and that your life in turn will be a place where He can once again establish His presence to touch His people