How do we recognize God's call in today's world?  1 Samuel 3:1-20 provides insight into this question.

In this day and age when we are constantly bombarded by so many campaigns and appeals from multiple voices inviting us to sign up,become a member, or join a group, the need arises to establish that God still calls individuals to service within God’s House of Prayer, to surrender our lives, and to engage in spiritual service that will change the course of history, making the world resemble God’s Beloved Community more and more.

Samuel, a single child of faith, was dedicated to honoring and serving God with his life, and we can observe the process by which he gradually recognized God’s voice calling him to a deeper place of service and responsibility. We are told that he lived in an era when visions and divine words were rare and scarce, implying that the young Samuel did not possess an experiential or intellectual framework for immediately recognizing a spiritual calling. Samuel’s mentor and spiritual director, was a Priest in the Temple named Eli. Eli was advanced in years, his eyesight had become dim, and he was lying down in his room in the Temple area.

There in the Temple lay young Samuel, in both his spiritual and physical posture worshiping God as the evening passed. On this particular evening he was open to hearing God’s voice even though he did not know at first how to recognize God’s voice. We must never underestimate the power of a posture of openness before God as the precursor to receiving God’s call.

When the Lord called Samuel by name he responded, even though he was unclear about the source of the call. Presuming Eli to be the source he went to the old man and presented himself to Eli saying, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli did not accept responsibility for extending the call. Instead, he instructed Samuel to lie down again. Samuel’s relationship to Eli is important, because it highlights the importance of having spiritual direction and mentoring in our lives. Behind the drama and suspense of Samuel’s call experience was this relationship based on trust that he formed with this elder sage before whom he could be transparent and confessional, spiritually and emotionally innocent and intimate, and could even be vulnerable trusting that his innocence and vulnerability would not be exploited or violated by Eli. It was Eli’s duty as the spiritual director to be available, to listen, and to discern along with young Samuel. Eli’s blindness is important because it demonstrates that spiritual discernment does not rely upon physical vision or tangible displays for their information and veracity.

This ‘Call’ episode repeated itself in the Temple three times. Each time, Samuel clearly heard his name being called, clearly felt compelled to respond immediately, and never asked himself whether he was hallucinating or delusional. Samuel was absolutely confident that he was hearing a voice calling his name, but due to the fact that “his gifts of spiritual discernment were not sufficiently developed he did not attribute the voice to Jehovah.” Samuel’s default response was to go immediately to his mentor and express his availability.”

Let me ask you, “Who provides spiritual mentoring in your life? Who is your spiritual sounding board? With whom do you share your availability concerning the voices that you’re hearing, calling you to a deeper prayer life, to greater spiritual service, and to increased stewardship and involvement at Church?” Hopefully you are confiding in someone that is truly led by the Holy Spirit and able to share spiritual counsel that is informed by prayer, by God’s word, and by the Spirit of God.

Eli’s spiritual discernment was activated after this third instance of ‘the Call’ when he perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. That’s a key claim in this story because it shows that the first act of spiritual discernment occurred on the part of Eli. Eli’s “perception” into what was happening is what is meant here by “spiritual discernment.” Spiritual discernment is the ability to see reality from God’s perspective. Though physically blind, Eli was capable of grasping and comprehending what was actually happening in the moment, including distinguishing the true source of Samuel’s call, even though Samuel himself was not capable of doing so. Next, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down again, and if you hear the voice calling you again, here is what you shall say, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”

The Elder priest tutored the boy on how to respond when God is calling you by name. First, acknowledge that it is the Lord speaking to you, not just your mentor, not just your pastor, not your best friend, not your professor or teacher, not your guru, not Oprah, not Dr. Phil, and not just the Nominating Committee; so you need to develop the capacity to recognize when it is the Almighty God calling you to a place of greater spiritual commitment through your service to the Church. And when you recognize the voice as God’s voice, grant God the authority, the license and the permission that God desires to speak into your life with the proviso that God has your undivided attention.