Jun 21 2019 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

Samuel was given by his mother to God, because God had granted her a child. Her response to that gift of child is a beautiful song, and looks very similar to Mary’s song in response to God’s gift of child to Mary, as Mary certainly knew the story of Hannah, her faith and her response to God’s gift.

Samuel was raised by Eli, a high priest. One night, when Samuel is asleep, he hears someone call, “Samuel, Samuel.” He runs in to Eli, asking what Eli wants, but Eli responds that he hadn’t called him. This happens several times, and finally Eli realizes it might be God, calling Samuel. So Eli tells Samuel to respond, “Speak, for your servant is listening”. It happens again, Samuel responds as directed, and he ends up getting a word from God, and eventually becomes a God-loving prophet and leader of the Israelites.

This story, Samuel’s response to God, as well as Hannah’s, is often referred to as a ‘call story’. How God called Samuel and Samuel’s response. As someone who’s felt God’s call in a particular way. I have always loved this story. Actually, call stories in general are compelling.

During my formation, I spent the better part of eight years thinking about God’s call, and my purpose. If God were to call me, “Carter, Carter”, and I responded, Speak, Lord for your servant is listening”, what would God say next?

Here’s the thing. It’s not a theoretical or hypothetical question. I fully believe God called me, and calls me still. The challenge in this modern and noisy world is to take the space and find the silence to both ask God to speak, and then listen to God’s response. By virtue of the required period of formation to be ordained, I had was forced to take that time and make that space. Or at least at the beginning felt like being forced. Towards the end of that time and through to today, it feels more like a wonderful luxury. As opposed to thinking that ‘I have to spend time thinking about God’s call’, now I see it more as ‘I get to spend time thinking about God’s call.

While I eventually believed that God was calling me to something particular, I also fully believe that God calls each of us to something particular. And while the result of my listening resulted in getting ordained, I also fully believe the result of each of our prayerful listening results in something equally spectacular. The only difference is that where I thought God was calling me built in space to listen and pray. How I wish that everyone had that luxury, to make or take the space and time needed to listen to God’s call, after saying, Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.

And to be clear, I never heard God’s booming voice, or silent whisper. I got a sense of what I was supposed to be doing, and as I continued to prayerfully listen to God, to mentors, to people I love, it became increasingly clear that this was what I was supposed to do. As a wise mentor once said when I was contemplating another change, “If it is of God, it will work out”. This is true for every call from God, every choice we make. We just need to ask for God’s guidance, and listen as God’s created universe responds. No one is specially called. No one is exempt from this gift. We just need to know it’s there, and ask, Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.