Rico Ignace
… that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.” 1 Samuel 3:4
I have a distinct memory from my childhood that remains fresh to this day. It must have been in the afternoon because the room was well-lit. I recall lying on the bed, on my back, with the left side of my body against the wall. I was fidgety and sweeping my left leg back and forth across the wall, for no good reason. (Do little boys need a reason?)
And I was thinking. Just thinking. Then an idea entered my mind, “God, I wonder if You are real.”
Throughout childhood and into my teens, I did think God was real, although I’m not sure how often I thought about God. I suppose that I took purpose and God for granted. I don’t know why, but somehow I believed that God was for me. I even felt special! Not more special than anyone, just the regular special that Jesus wants us all to know and feel.
Later in my teen years, when things were explained more fully to me, I realized Jesus was who I had been waiting for. Having long felt that God existed, it was nice to finally attach a name.
With time, the knowing became more than merely nice. It grew into understanding, then promise, and the promise became certain. In the certainty, I found belonging, and everything that attends belonging – love for the moment, hope in tomorrow, a humility for days past. I was a man transformed.
There is a boy named Samuel who heard audibly from God. I suspect few can claim his experience, yet all seekers have shared in the form. We experience a prompting, then an invitation to respond. In Samuel’s case, the response was, “Here I am.”
When I was a child, I spoke to God in wondering, which surely is hardly a stone’s toss from, “Here I am”. I imagine you have shared in wondering questions, too? Thanks be to God that He answers them, each and every one.
Listening Prompt
I invite you to share in wonderings about Jesus. Try the advice of Samuel’s mentor, Eli. In 1 Sam 3:9, Eli had the boy do two things: first, go lie down – so, find a space or niche to calm and relax. Second, make the following offering: “your servant is listening.” Seek to engage with the Lord by relaxing, posing a wondering question, presenting a servant’s heart, and waiting on Him.
