“Now Samuel did not yet know [or personally experience] the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed [directly] to him... Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the previous times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening.’” — 1 Samuel 3:7, 10 (AMP)
Menkato V Awomi
Toluvi Dimapur
This passage marks a significant turning point in Israel’s spiritual history. It’s not just the beginning of Samuel’s prophetic journey—it’s a quiet rebuke of a generation that had grown familiar with religion but distant from revelation. In the stillness of night, when the temple was dim and leadership had lost its sharpness, God did something unexpected:
He bypassed the priest and whispered to a child.
1. Eli Had the Position, but Samuel Had the Posture
Eli was the high priest appointed, respected, and experienced. He had been in ministry for decades. Yet when God wanted to speak, He didn’t go through Eli. He went to a boy.
Why? Because position alone doesn’t move the heart of God. What God looks for is posture, a heart that is open, listening, and ready to respond.
Samuel, though young and unfamiliar with the voice of the Lord, had a posture of humility. His innocence was uncluttered by pride or presumption. He didn’t assume he knew what God sounded like. He didn’t pretend. He simply said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
This is the posture heaven responds to.
2. The System Had Grown Numb, but the Next Generation Was Awake
The religious structure of Israel was functioning. Sacrifices continued. The temple routines went on. But beneath the surface, spiritual sensitivity was fading. Eli’s sons had defiled the priesthood, and Eli had grown passive in correcting them.
God saw a system that had form but lacked fire. There was movement, but no message.
And so, God began stirring the spirit of a child. While the lamp of God was dimming, the flame in Samuel’s heart was being lit. The next generation was being awakened.
In every generation, when systems grow stale, God begins to stir something new. Often, it is in the hearts of the young. The overlooked, the ones without titles, and the ones the religious elite might not consider “ready.”
But God isn’t looking for status. He’s looking for sensitivity.
3. Authority Without Sensitivity Becomes Spiritually Silent
Eli still held authority. People still recognized his position. But God no longer spoke to him.
This is one of the most sobering truths in Scripture: It’s possible to have spiritual authority without spiritual sensitivity. To hold the title but no longer carry the voice. To function in leadership while being disconnected from the presence of God.
Eli’s story is a warning to every leader, pastor, and believer. If we stop listening, if we grow numb to conviction, if we ignore God's voice long enough—He may go silent.
But God’s silence toward Eli wasn’t a void—it was a shift. He wasn’t done speaking. He was just speaking to someone else.
What Can We Learn?
Let’s reflect on three truths we can draw from this passage:
1. God Doesn't Honour Rank: He Honours Readiness
God is not impressed by titles, robes, or positions. He responds to the one whose heart is ready. Samuel wasn’t in charge of the temple. He didn’t even know it was God calling him at first. But he was available. And God chose him.
Today, we must ask ourselves: Are we truly ready to hear from God, or are we just holding positions?
2. Age Doesn’t Guarantee Revelation: Hunger Does
Spiritual maturity isn’t determined by how long you’ve been in church—it’s determined by how hungry you are for God.
Eli had years of service. Samuel had no experience. But Samuel had hunger, and that’s what drew revelation.
God doesn’t reveal Himself based on age, but based on desire. Those who seek Him find Him. Not those who have simply been around.
3. God Will Skip Over Noise to Speak Into Naive Availability
The temple likely had routines, rituals, and plenty of noise. But God didn’t speak into the busyness—He spoke into availability.
Samuel didn’t know how to perform rituals. He didn’t understand sacred customs. But he said the words heaven waits to hear: “Speak, Lord.”
That’s enough. In our world of noise—religious, cultural, and digital—God is still looking for a quiet heart. A simple "yes." An honest openness.
A Message to the Church Today
This passage speaks prophetically to the Church in our time. It challenges our obsession with positions, platforms, and performance. It warns us not to confuse religious activity with divine intimacy.
Too often, we elevate the experienced and overlook the available. We assume God will always speak through the official. But Scripture shows us: God will always choose the humble over the high-ranking.
If today’s Church becomes deaf to His voice, God will raise up Samuels in the silence—children, youths, the overlooked ones. He is not bound by tradition. He’s drawn to those who listen.
Let us not be like Eli, holding authority but missing the voice.
Let us be like Samuel, young, yes, but listening.
Not perfect, but present.
Not experienced, but eager.
So the question remains:
Will we recognize His whisper, even if it bypasses our structures?
Will we say, like Samuel,
"Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening"?
May we be found—not just in position—but in posture.
For that is where God speaks.
