The Story of Samuel Hearing God’s Voice, Part 1 (1 Samuel 1-3)

There was a woman named Hannah that lived in the days of the Judges of Israel. She was very sad because she had no children. Her husband loved her, but he had two wives and his other wife had several children. Now boys and girls, it is wrong for a man to have more than one wife, but that sometimes happened in the Old Testament. This family went to the Temple in Jerusalem every year to worship and offer sacrifices as the people did in those days. One year while they were at the Temple, Hannah prayed with all her heart that God would give her a child. She even vowed that if God gave her a son she would give him back to the Lord. Well, God heard and answered her prayer; and less than a year later she named her first son, Samuel. Did she keep her vow to give him back to the Lord? Yes, she did, and after Samuel was old enough she took him to the Temple where he would minister before the Lord for the rest of his life. I’m sure that was a hard thing for Hannah to do, but she had made a vow to God and now she would keep it. Do you think God was pleased because she did what she promised to do and because she trusted God to take care of her son? I do, and later God gave Hannah two more sons and three daughters. Hannah also visited Samuel at the Temple and brought him a coat she made for him every year. Now, what about Samuel ministering in the Temple as a young boy? Do you think God’s favor and blessings were upon him? Do you think he really heard God’s voice speaking to him? Do you think God can speak to boys and girls in our day or do we have to be older to hear God’s voice? We’ll try to come back to these questions tomorrow.