Samuel Hears God’s Voice
Samuel was a young boy who lived and served in the house of the Lord, helping the priest Eli. In those days, the word of the Lord was rare, and visions were not common.
One night, Eli was lying down in his own room. His eyes had grown so weak that he could barely see. Not far away, Samuel was lying down too, near the ark of God, and the lamp of God had not yet gone out.
Then the Lord called out, “Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Here I am!”
Samuel got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you. Go back and lie down.” So Samuel went and lay down again.
Then the Lord called out once more, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli a second time. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” But again Eli said, “I did not call, my son. Go back and lie down.”
Samuel heard his name called two times in the night. Both times, he got up and ran straight to Eli.
Why do you think Samuel ran to Eli instead of staying where he was?
Samuel did not yet know that it was the Lord calling him.
Keep listening.
Samuel still did not know it was the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been shown to him this way before.
So the Lord called a third time, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli once more. “Here I am,” he said. “You called me.” This time, Eli understood. He realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy.
Eli said to 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.
Then the Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Three times, Samuel went to Eli in the night.
Eli finally told Samuel what to say the next time he heard the voice: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
What do you think it means to answer God this way? Has anyone ever helped you understand something you were hearing or feeling?
Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
Then the Lord gave Samuel a difficult message: a message about judgment on Eli’s family, because Eli’s sons had done wrong, and Eli knew it, yet had not stopped them.
Samuel lay there until morning, thinking about everything the Lord had told him.
In the morning, Samuel got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord, just as he did every day.
But he was afraid to tell Eli what he had heard in the night.
Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” Samuel answered. Eli asked, “What was it he told you? Do not hide it from me.”
So Samuel told Eli everything the Lord had said. He did not hide a single word.
When Eli heard the whole message, he said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
Eli did not argue or turn away. He accepted what the Lord had spoken, even though it was hard to hear.
Samuel had received a hard message. And when Eli asked him for it, Samuel told him the truth.
Has anyone ever asked you to share something difficult? What was that like?
You do not need to have one perfect answer. What matters is being honest, even when it is hard.
Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. The Lord let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
And all of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, recognized that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.
The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, revealing himself to Samuel through his word.
It began with just one name, called in the middle of the night (“Samuel!”), and it grew into something much larger: a boy who learned to listen, and later learned to speak the words the Lord gave him.
God still calls. And like Samuel, we can learn to listen, and to answer.
How to Talk About This Story With Your Child
At first, Samuel did not recognize that it was the Lord calling him. That is not a flaw in Samuel. The Bible tells us plainly that the word of the Lord was rare in those days, so Samuel had no reason yet to expect God to speak to him this way. It took Eli’s experience to help Samuel understand what was happening.
You might ask your child: Why do you think Samuel didn’t know it was God speaking to him at first? What helped him understand?
This is a good moment to talk about how we sometimes need someone wiser or more experienced to help us notice and understand something new.
It is common to say “God speaks to us,” and that can be true in a general sense: through Scripture, through wise people, through prayer. But it is worth being careful with young children not to suggest that every thought or feeling they have is a direct message from God, the way it was for Samuel.
Samuel’s experience in this passage was unusual even for his own time. The Bible tells us that the word of the Lord was rare then. It was not an everyday occurrence.
You might explain to your child that God can work in many different ways, but what happened to Samuel was a special and rare moment, not something to expect every night.
This story includes a hard moment: God’s message to Samuel involved coming judgment on Eli’s family, because of wrongdoing by Eli’s sons that Eli knew about but did not stop.
The story does not describe the details of that judgment, and you do not need to add them for a young child. What matters at this age is that Samuel was given something serious and difficult to carry, and that he told the truth about it, even though it was hard.
This can also be a good moment to talk with your child about telling the truth to trusted adults, and about knowing they can always come to you, even if something feels hard to say. A child should always feel safe telling a trusted adult like you if anything ever feels wrong, no matter who is involved.
Pray Together
You might pray something like this together:
“Dear God, thank You for speaking to Samuel, and thank You that You still care about each of us today. Help us to listen for You: in Your word, in wise people around us, and in quiet moments. Give us hearts like Samuel’s, ready to say, ‘Speak, Lord, for I am listening.’ And help us to be honest, even when what we have to say is hard. Amen.”
Samuel was a young boy serving in the house of the Lord when he heard his name called in the night.
Not once, not twice, but three times he ran to Eli, until Eli helped him understand what was happening.
When Samuel finally answered, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” the Lord gave him a difficult message, and Samuel told the truth about it, even though he was afraid.
Samuel grew up to become a prophet the whole nation of Israel came to trust, because he had learned, from a very young age, both how to listen and how to speak honestly.
Continue your family Bible time with more free stories and activities from Little Faith Hands.