In third chapter of the first book of Samuel, Samuel is first visited by God. Now it was an expected thing to readers of this testament - he had been prayed over, been offered (by his mother!) for the purpose, and had been growing in acceptance, presumably because he was prudent - all signs that God's hand was in his life. If I may, I would like to draw your attention to the nineteenth verse, where it says "And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground."
Consider this - several things are happening in this single verse.
"Samuel grew ...."
It does not say he is aging, or maturing, or gaining knowledge, so we do not, at first clause, know in what manner he is growing. Likely, though it refers to all three - this is validated in the following verse, where it indicates he was established to be a prophet of the Lord. This likely was a blow to Eli, but Eli had been prepared to some degree, and God had already told Eli some of what was soon to happen, and this was complemented by what God told Samuel - in particular, that no matter the sacrifice or offering, Eli's house would not be cleansed of the sin that he and his sons had engaged in.
"... the LORD was with him ..."
This is amazing in and of itself, and in this day and age would be considered an immense blessing. During the time of the writing, it was far more rare - the word of the Lord was precious in those days. Consider a world where the Holy Bible, the anointed Word of the Lord, was not a collected work, not in a single tome, but still split asunder. Consider how amazing it is that anyone would fear the Lord without the infrastructure we normally associate with Godly families and the church. Then consider that God was with Samuel while he was growing up. Samuel must have had miracles follow him, and likely prepared him to be the prophet for the Lord that he soon would be.
"... [Samuel] did let none of his words fall to the ground."
It is this part of the verse that struck me, something that hit me home, and something that I note for all of us. How many of you who read these words have been prophesied over, have had a word of knowledge about the future in any way, or (at the very least) have had an inkling from God how your life will unfold? Have you put any active thoughts into it? Samuel did. Samuel put into action and realization the guidance God was giving him. We do not know exactly what he did, but we know that Samuel was growing, that the Lord was with him, and that Samuel let none of his words fall to the ground. Would you have been that faithful?
Call to action:
Spend some time in prayer, whether by reading scripture or silent reverie or whatever God has called you to in that regard, and seek God's guidance on some matter. It may come from the Bible, it may come from a license plate, it may come from some accidental utterance on behalf of a co-worker.
Listen for God. He will take as long as He needs to and will speak. This part of it is often more difficult than any other, as it calls for an active inactivity - to be seeking God's voice without doing anything to achieve the connection. Now you can inhibit your connection, but the point here is that you are trusting God to provide the means and connection, but being open for its establishment.
Keep Him in your heart. There will be a point where you have some awareness that God has spoken to you. It also often comes with some guidance, or at least a word of knowledge. If you do not have peace, go back a step and listen for God again. He can and does work miracles, so how He will handle that is up to Him. I have experienced Him not talking for a few seconds or minutes, waiting to see if I were faithful, sometimes hours as well. Regardless, wait upon God.
If you DO have peace about this word of knowledge, this connection with God, then act on it. Store it in your heart. Plan on it coming to pass and let none of the words of the Lord fall to the ground.
May your life never be the same.
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