Today’s Theme for Prayer – Jesus Calls Me Beyond Myself
How Generous is My Response to the Lord?
In the Sanctuary of the Heart: Encountering God’s Presence
I Sam 3:1-14
During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, the word of the LORD was scarce and vision infrequent. One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But he answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.” Samuel did not yet recognize the LORD, since the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and stood there, calling out as before: Samuel, Samuel! Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The LORD said to Samuel: I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his house, beginning to end. I announce to him that I am condemning his house once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them. Therefore, I swear to Eli’s house: No sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime.
Grace Prayed For
The grace of spiritual attentiveness: Pray that your heart would be awakened and sensitive to God’s presence and His promptings. Ask Him to help you cultivate a spirit of attentiveness, so that you don’t miss His whispers in the ordinary moments of life.
Reflection
Come, let us sit in the stillness, in the hushed sanctuary of our hearts, where even the faintest whisper of God can be heard. Picture the scene: the lamp of God, flickering low, a symbol of a nation where the word of the Lord was scarce, where vision had grown dim. In this twilight, young Samuel slumbers, innocent and unaware, near the very Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place of the Divine.
And then, a voice. A gentle call, piercing the silence: “Samuel, Samuel.”
He does not yet know this voice, this intimate summons that will forever change his life. He mistakes it for Eli’s, for the familiar, for the earthly. How often do we do the same? How often does God call to us in the quiet moments, in the unexpected circumstances, and we, in our spiritual slumber, attribute it to something else, to anything but Him?
Notice God’s persistence. He calls not once, not twice, but three times. He is patient, this God of ours. He longs to be known, to be recognized, to be in communion with us, His beloved children. He yearns for us to awaken to His voice.
Finally, Eli, the seasoned priest, though spiritually failing, discerns the truth: it is the Lord who calls. He instructs Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
This, Beloved, is the posture of intimacy. A heart open, surrendered, vulnerable. A willingness to not just hear, but to truly listen, to receive, to obey. It is in this posture that we move from simply knowing about God to truly knowing Him. It is in moving from only intellectually knowing about him, to a heart posture of surrender and vulnerability that we can experience the closeness that he longs for.
And when Samuel adopts this posture, what happens? The Lord comes. He stands there, present, intimate. He reveals Himself, not in thunder and earthquake, but in a still, small voice, a voice that speaks directly to Samuel’s soul. A voice that entrusts him with a weighty, even painful, message.
What is the Lord whispering to your heart today? What message, perhaps challenging, perhaps comforting, is He longing to impart? Are you creating space for Him in the stillness? Are you mistaking his call for something else, for something of this world?
He is calling you, by name. He is inviting you into a deeper communion, a more profound intimacy. He is waiting for you to quiet your heart, to still your mind, and to whisper those transformative words:
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Let this be your prayer. Let this be the cry of your soul. And in the listening, may you encounter the living God, who desires to reveal Himself to you, to speak to you, to guide you, to love you with an everlasting love.
Growing in Intimacy/Union with Jesus
Just as God called Samuel specifically by name, this passage reminds us that God knows us intimately and calls us personally. He is not a distant, impersonal deity, but a loving Father who desires a relationship with each of His children. This realization can be incredibly moving, drawing us into a deeper appreciation for His love and attention.
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post