Speak, Lord

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:06] Hey, everybody. Pastor Chuck Allen here, and welcome to Friday. You've made it through another week. And thanks so much for joining me, because this week we have been talking about small things. We've been talking about how things that are slow and faithful make the difference. We've been talking about silent prayers. And today we want to talk about First Samuel, chapter three. Speak, Lord. [00:00:31] Yesterday we left Hannah at the temple, handing her son over to a priest named Eli. Now today I want to finish that story because I think Eli is one of the most misunderstood dudes in the Old Testament. And here's something in his story that I need you to hear. By the time we get to First Samuel, chapter three, young Samuel has been living and serving in the temple under Eli's care for years. And the text gives us this kind of haunting little detail in verse one that says messages from the Lord were rare and visions were quite uncommon. Now you can just imagine that season. We've probably lived them a whole generation growing up in a spiritual quiet stretch where heaven felt distant and nobody was really sure God was still speaking. [00:01:20] Maybe you know that season. Well, maybe you're in it right now where prayer feels like it's bouncing off the ceiling and you're starting to wonder if God has gone silent on you. And in particularly and specifically. Watch what happened next, though, because it's so very cool. One night, Eli, who by this point is old and going blind, is lying down in his usual place. And Samuel, this young boy, is lying down near the ark of God. And a voice calls out in the dark saying, samuel. [00:01:53] Now, Samuel doesn't know it's the Lord. He thinks it's Eli. So he runs to the old priest and he says, here I am. You called me. [00:02:01] And Eli, confused, sends him back to bed. I didn't call you. And this happens again and again. Three times this kid runs to an old man's bedside because he hears his name in the night and doesn't yet know the voice of God. Here's what I love about Eli in this moment, and I think it's the part of his story we skip past way too quickly. On the third time, verse eight, it tells us that Eli realizes it must be the Lord that is calling this boy. And instead of being irritated with him, instead of sending Samuel away, the fourth time, this old, weary, half blind priest does something remarkable. He teaches the boy how to answer God. He says, samuel, go lie back down. And if the Lord calls again, say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. [00:02:56] Sit with that, y', all, Eli's own Sons, his biological sons, had rejected the Lord and were living in open corruption. Eli's ministry, by every earthly measure, was a mess. His household was falling apart. And yet, in the middle of his own disappointment, he still had enough spiritual generosity left to hand someone else but the words to hear God. [00:03:22] That's the mark of a mature faith, when your own story hasn't gone the way you hoped and you can still position someone else to encounter the living God. Eli couldn't fix his sons, but he could disciple this one. He couldn't undo his own failures, but he could hand Samuel a sentence that would shape the rest of Israel's history. [00:03:49] So Samuel goes back, lies down, and when the voice calls a fourth time, he says, speak. Your servant is listening, just like Eli says. [00:03:58] And God speaks a hard word, a word of judgment concerning Eli's own household. And here's the detail that gets me every time. The next morning, Samuel's afraid to tell Eli what God says. But Eli, knowing it might be about his own failure, says, tell me everything. [00:04:18] Don't hold anything back. That's a guy who wanted the truth from God more than he wanted comfort for himself. Here's what I want to leave with you today. Maybe you feel like Samuel Young, maybe unsure or hearing something in the night, but you're not certain it's God. Or maybe you feel like Eli, aware of your own shortcomings, wondering if you have anything left to offer anyone. Either way, the posture is the same. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening. That's not a passive prayer, y'. All. That's the bravest thing you can ever say to God because it means you're willing to hear whatever he says next, even if it costs you something. [00:05:02] So before you get back to your day, where's God trying to get your attention? And have you actually stopped long enough to say, speak, Lord? I'm listening. [00:05:13] Lord, in the quiet, ordinary corners of today, would you speak to us and give us the humility of Eli and the availability of Samuel to actually listen when you do? [00:05:25] In Jesus name, amen. I'll see you next time on the weekday podcast. And thanks so much for joining me, friend. God bless you. Go in peace.