And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 1 Samuel 3:10 KJV

I once spent two years commuting two hours each way to my job. Since it was so far, I spent the week with friends in one state, while my wife and our two children lived in another. At first, I hardly noticed, but the pressure was taking its toll. Some mornings I would wake up, wondering where I was and spiritually, I was growing distant from God. Without God’s grace and my wife’s patience and prayers we would not have made it through. During that time, I often felt as if God was so far away that I could never get back to Him. Then one afternoon as I was driving home and listening to a message on Christian radio, my heart was so moved that unexpected tears began to flow down my cheeks. In that moment it felt as if Jesus had just opened the door of my pickup truck and slid into the passenger seat.

Though my situation was different than Samuel’s, it is interesting that, like me Samuel was outwardly fulfilling his duties, but the Bible tells us that in spite of all he was doing right, he still didn’t know the Lord. Yet despite him being the unlikeliest of candidates, God chose Samuel to be a prophet. Notice, it doesn’t say that “Samuel was praying.” Or that “Samuel had some burning desire to hear from God.” No, Samuel was sound asleep, and God just came! That should give us all hope, because no matter who we are or what our circumstances we are in, God can also come for us. When He does, like Samuel we need to answer and tell Him, “Lord we are listening. Thank you for remembering me!”