1 Samuel 3:1-9

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 house 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 A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” 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.

Questions to consider:

• Why do you think "there were not many visions" in Samuel's day?
• Would you, like Samuel, have assumed that it was Eli calling you?
  
• Why is this an especially natural thing for Samuel to think, given the information we were offered in verse 1?
• What do you think it means for the word of the Lord to have been revealed to Samuel?
• Do you feel that the word of the Lord has been revealed to you?
• How do you respond when God calls out to you?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

I find it interesting that the author of this book describes Samuel as "not yet know[ing] the Lord" because the Word of the Lord had not been revealed to him. We don't really know if Eli had ever heard God's voice at this point either, but he is still able to direct Samuel in the proper way to respond to God. This led me to think about the way in which we are able to serve as mentors for those around us.

It's true that none of us has ALL of the necessary knowledge, wisdom, experience, etc to have the answers to every question that we might be asked. But, we have a great resource in God, who wants to use us to minister to and mentor others. Today, take some time to ask that God might use you to minister to and mentor others around you, as he used Eli to get Samuel started on the road to diligently serving God throughout his life.