Exposition:
God was ready to use Samuel for a task. The task of bringing the hearts of the Israelites back unto Himself. However, as He (God) called Samuel and wanted to use him, Samuel did not know how to hear from God. This made him run to his ‘father’ Eli the Priest, three consecutive times. Eli realised that it was God who wanted to talk to the young and ‘inexperienced’ Samuel. It was Eli, the Priest who told him (Samuel) the words to repeat if the call came again.

The sentence Samuel was to make was SPEAK LORD, FOR YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING. This statement changed the entire life of Samuel. It looked quite a simple sentence but Samuel didn’t know. Samuel grew to become a very powerful Priest and Prophet in Israel, yet he needed someone to help him make just that statement. He needed just a single sentence from the ‘fathers’ to kick start his ministry and to a new relationship with the God of Israel. As young people, no matter how gifted and talented we are, we still need some level of guidance and mentoring from our fathers.

There is so much in our fathers and leaders of the church that we can learn from. Some young people are puffed up by their academic laurels and hence do not submit to the leadership of the local church. Our fathers have so much in them. The only way to tap into their reservoirs of wisdom and knowledge is to get closer to them and also learn from them. We can ask the questions we don’t understand and we should not, as young people think that we have all the answers. They have so much we can learn from. Samuel needed just one sentence for a transformation of his ministerial life and that direction came from Eli, the experienced Priest.