Have you ever been awoken by a shout or a cry in the middle of the night? It may have been a child, an elderly parent, someone in distress. It may have been you waking from a scary nightmare. It’s very alarming and disorienting. Gets your heart rate up, doesn’t it? 

Here is devoted Samuel, sound asleep when he hears a voice calling his name. Up he jumps and runs to Eli. “Master, did you call?” he asks, ready to serve. Eli assures him that he had not called him and urges Samuel to return to the temple where he was sleeping near the ark of God. This happens two more times, when Eli realizes that this may be God calling for Samuel. 

An interesting note is found in the first verse of chapter 3, “Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” Emphasis added. (Holy Bible, 1 Samuel 3:1-21, English Standard Version, Crossway Press, p.276)  

So, naturally when Samuel hears a call, he assumes that it is from Eli. However, Eli understands that Samuel is on a special path for the Lord. He sends Samuel back to listen again for the message and tells him just what to say to the Lord: “Here I am, for you called me.” 

The message that the Lord delivers to Samuel is not very pleasant at all. It involves Eli and his family and the punishment that will be wrought upon them for their disobedience and blasphemy in Israel. Eli had tried without success to turn his sons’ behavior and now God is stepping in. 

Eli asks Samuel to tell him every bit of the Lord’s message. Samuel was afraid to do this because he held Eli in high regard, but Eli convinces him to follow the will of God. Eli’s response to the message is “Thy will be done.” From this time on, Samuel grows in his relationship with God and becomes established as a prophet of the Lord.  

Samuel’s response of “Here I am, Lord “precedes Isaiah’s answer of “Here I am. Send me.” Different purposes for both men but performed with devotion and surrender to God’s will. Just as we may have done during our own nighttime calls to help or calm a loved one, to bring a message of security to a frightened child or to add another blanket on a chilly night. 

God loves us unconditionally and has from the beginning of time and will through eternity. How can we not answer, “Did you call? Here I am, Lord.”? 

Terri