And the LORD said ...

 ^"1 The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. ² One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. ³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple ^[a] of the LORD, where the ark of God was. ⁴ Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." ⁵ And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. ⁶ Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."  "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. ⁸ The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹ So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰ The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"  Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." ¹¹ And the LORD said to Samuel:..." 1 Samuel 3

Oh God, where are You? Why don't You speak to me? I need to hear from You! That, often, is my lament. Why have You forsaken me, why have You turned Your back on me? And God speaks to Samuel, a mere boy working in the temple for the priest. He doesn't speak to Eli, which I get when I read the story, but He speaks to young Samuel. To someone who doesn't even recognize His voice, for crying out loud.

As I read this, read it again, and pondered it today I noticed a few things which fed me. God initiated the communication. Samuel didn't even know God's voice, he didn't dream that God would speak to him - yet He did. So often I'm running alongside God saying "talk to me, talk to me" and He, in all fairness, must be thinking, "if you would shut up for 10 seconds I might be able to". Here, God went looking for Samuel, God calls him.

Poor confused kid doesn't even know it's the Almighty Who is calling him. He runs off to the priest, certain that it must be his employer who is calling him. It's not too surprising that Samuel is confused, he, after all, has never heard God speak before. If he knew God spoke to people, I'm sure he was convinced it was reserved for priests and prophets. By the third time God calls him, Samuel has to be thinking that old Eli is either losing it or he's playing some weird joke on him. The amazing thing about this all is that it takes Eli until the third time to realize God must be speaking to his helper. Well, maybe not that amazing after all ... how often does it take several attempts before I realize God is talking to me?

So Eli recognizes that the kid has heard from God. Get dressed in your best and head over to the alter, and whatever you do, don't keep The Almighty waiting. Interestingly, that's not what he tells him. Instead, he says, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening". Stop your busyness. Go and lie down. I wonder how much more I'd hear from God if I took the time to stop doing, to stop chasing after things, to just "be" in His presence. Awesome advice that old Eli gives Samuel. Relax in His presence, just be ... and if perchance God should speak to you again, say 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening'. Now is the time to ask God to speak, after He has chosen to initiate the conversation. And then, for crying out loud, LISTEN! I'm listening God, take it away.

So Samuel goes back to bed and does as Eli suggested, and lo and behold, "And the LORD said to Samuel:..". God talks to Samuel. He actually talks to him. Maybe, just maybe, if I would shut down the busyness from time to time, if I would wait quietly for God to initiate conversation (and He's anxious to do just that), if I would acknowledge Him when He calls me and actually listen (not tell Him what I want to hear but listen to what He wants to say), maybe then I'd hear Him speak a lot more.  Definitely sounds like it's worth trying.