Here I am, Lord

Background: Even as a child, the future prophet Samuel heard the voice of God. Tended by Eli in the Temple, the boy slept near the Ark of the Covenant, which housed the tablets of law God had given to Moses.

Physically, the priest Eli had begun to lose his vision, but spiritually, the whole Hebrew nation had begun to lose sight of God. Visions and the word of the LORD came rarely, but even so, someone had to see or hear. Someone had to be open, childlike, and receptive to God.

So the LORD called the boy Samuel.
By name, God called, “Samuel, Samuel,”
and immediately
the boy got up and ran to Eli, saying,
“Here I am for you called.” But
Eli said, “No, I didn’t. Go back to bed.”

Samuel obeyed, but again
the LORD called, “Samuel!”
So again Samuel got up and
hurried to Eli, saying, “Here
I am for you called me.” But again
Eli said, “I did not call you, my son.
Go back to bed.”

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD,
nor did he know the word of the LORD,
but the LORD called the boy a third time.
And again Samuel got up and went to Eli,
saying, “Here I am for you called me.”

Finally the priest discerned
what was happening.
The third time Eli learned
the LORD called,
and so he said, “Go back to bed,
and if the call comes again, say,
‘Speak, LORD,
for Your servant is listening’.”

Obeying, the boy hurried to bed,
and soon the LORD came to the child
and said, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel said, “Speak, LORD,
for Your servant is listening.”

So the word of the LORD, the plan
of the LORD came to Samuel, a child,
and that night a prophet
was born
in a child – an obedient child,
who heard the word of the LORD
and listened.

Post Script: The word God gave to Samuel that night was hard to hear! In essence, God told the child that Eli and his blasphemous sons would be punished for their disobedience and lose their place in the Temple forever!

Poor little Samuel didn’t sleep that night! He surely did not want to be the one to tell this hard news to Eli – the very priest who had tended him since early childhood! Eli probably sensed this but did the right thing, insisting that the boy hide nothing from him but tell him everything God had said.

Samuel did, and most likely, that hard decision strengthened the boy. Instead of depending solely on Eli as he grew up, Samuel grew closer and closer to God in his life-long dependence on the LORD.

©2013, Mary Harwell Sayler prayer-a-phrased 1 Samuel 3:1-21 from today’s Daily Bible Readings.

~~

Praying for God to stay close

Background: Wandering in the wilderness between slavery and redemption, the Hebrew people praised God and complained, obeyed God and disobeyed, and showed great faith and lack of faith. When asked to make the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting and Ark of the Covenant, which held the commandments God had given them through Moses, the people brought so many offerings that they had to be asked to stop giving!

After the elaborate Tabernacle had been completed, the people would stand and watch while Moses entered the tent and the pillar of cloud descended. As the LORD spoke to Moses, his whole countenance would shine with such a glow that he had to cover his face with a veil to keep from scaring the people!

Moses did not see the face of God, but he saw the glory of God when he prayed for the Holy Presence to stay close beside him and the people:

Then Moses said to the LORD, “Now, therefore, I pray that if I have found favor in Your sight, You will show me Your way so I might know You and find grace in Your sight. Remember, too, that this nation is Your people.”

“And God answered, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’

“Then Moses said to God, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from this place. For how will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight unless You go with us? We shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people on the face of the earth.’

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do what you have asked for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’

“Then Moses prayed, ‘Please show me Your glory.’

“And God said, ‘I will make My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But you cannot see My face for no one can see Me and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Stand here beside Me in this place on the rock, and when My glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand,” Exodus 33:13-22.


Questions: In what way has the goodness of God passed before you, enabling you to see, hear, or feel your closeness to the Holy Presence? Have you found a church or synagogue where that Presence lifts you into praise and worship? What does the word of God that came through Moses and the Prophets and other spirit-filled writers mean to you? How would you describe the Glory of God?


Prayer: Dear LORD God and Heavenly Father, as Pentecost approaches, we pray for You to draw close to us and help us to draw close to You. Empower and bless all of Your people with the coming of Your Holy Spirit on this holy day and season of Pentecost.

~~

© 2012, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved. 

~~