But before Samuel could even put his head down on the
pillow, he heard the voice again, even louder than before.
He got up again and called to Eli, his voice quivering with
fear.
But the master’s response was different this time. He told
the boy to stop calling and instead to listen, giving him six
words to say. So Samuel returned to bed and listened. When
he heard the call a final time, he responded:
“Speak, for your servant is listening.”^4
After that, his life was never the same.
How the boy heard and answered his call led to many
significant events in Israel’s history, including the anointing
of two kings, one who became the most famous the country
would ever know. Samuel was called, and he answered. But
the scary part—the part we should pay attention to—is that
he almost missed it.
In the midst of your apprenticeship, perhaps while serving
someone else’s dream, you will make a discovery of your
own. At first, it will come imperceptibly, like a whisper. But
as you pay attention, it will greet you in forms you may not
understand. It may come early in the morning or late at
night, whenever you are still and the most vulnerable.
Gently, it will speak to your heart, calling greatness out of
you that you never knew existed.
We all hear such a call at some point, but many ignore it,