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The Learning to Listen
Weekly Edition #41: November 5th, 2025
Verse I Like:
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.
Weekly Dose
Will you answer the call when you’re called? Most of us like to believe we would. But are we sure we’d even recognize it when it comes?
People are complicated. We live in constant contradiction—between our thoughts, our feelings, and our actions. So how do we know when something is truly a good and divine calling, rather than our own desire disguised as one?
As we see later in this edition, it often comes down to a willingness to listen and the courage to answer. Even when you don’t fully understand the call yet. It’s an openness to correction, to change, to being redirected.
When those things align, there’s little doubt you’ll find yourself drawing closer to both the calling. And the Caller.
Quotes I Like:
“The will of God will not take you where the grace of God cannot protect you.”
“Faith begins where our understanding ends.”
“Most men die at 25, we just don’t bury them until 75.”
Mane Message
Listen to what God says.
There is no better advice. But for simpletons like me, it begs the question: How?
In 1 Samuel 3, we find a young Samuel sleeping near the Ark of God, serving under Eli the priest. Scripture tells us, “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there were not many visions.” So when Samuel hears a voice calling his name in the night, he naturally assumes it’s Eli. Three times, he runs to his mentor saying, “Here I am. You called me.” And three times Eli replies, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
It’s only after the third time that Eli realizes what’s happening. He instructs Samuel, “If He calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” And when God calls a fourth time, Samuel finally answers that way. The Lord then begins to speak with him directly.
This moment captures something beautiful about how God works. Samuel heard the call, but he didn’t recognize it. The voice of God was not unfamiliar because it was hidden. It was unfamiliar because Samuel hadn’t yet learned to listen.
Even when God calls us, we often need guidance to recognize His voice. Eli, though flawed, played a critical role in helping Samuel discern what was divine. The call may come from heaven, but recognition often comes through people.
Many long to hear God clearly, yet dismiss the mentors, counsel, or quiet spaces that help us identify His voice. Before Samuel ever prophesied to nations, he first had to learn to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
The call is the beginning. Recognition is the training. Obedience is the fruit.
Weekly Ponder
What good is being called if you never learn to listen?
Is it really confusion—or just resistance dressed up as doubt?
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