I received a phone call from an unknown number. Often, I let those calls go to voicemail, but this time I picked up. The random caller asked politely if I had just a minute for him to share a short Bible passage. He quoted Revelation 21:3–5 about how God “will wipe every tear from their eyes.” He talked about Jesus, how he was our assurance and hope. I told him I already know Jesus as my personal Saviour. But the caller wasn’t aiming to witness to me. Instead, he simply asked if he could pray with me. And he did, asking God to give me encouragement and strength.
That call reminded me of another ‘call’ in Scripture—God called out to the young boy Samuel in the middle of the night (1 Samuel 3:4–10). Three times Samuel heard the voice, thinking it was the elderly priest Eli. The final time, following Eli’s instruction, Samuel realised that God was calling him: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (v. 10). Likewise, through our days and nights, God may be speaking to us. We need to ‘pick up’, which might mean spending more time in His presence and listening for His voice.
I then thought of ‘the call’ in another way. What if we sometimes are the messenger of God’s words to someone else? We might feel we have no way of helping others. But as God guides us, we could phone a friend and ask, “Would it be okay if I just prayed with you today?”
By Kenneth Petersen
REFLECT & PRAY
What message of encouragement did someone recently share with you? Who might be encouraged by a phone call from you?
Dear God, prompt me to think of others whom I can encourage with Your wisdom.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Eli was a priest in Israel and, as such, a valuable mentor to young Samuel. Unfortunately, Eli’s struggles as a dad are pictured in the failings of his sons Hophni and Phinehas. These men followed in their father’s footsteps as priests but defiled the sacrifices (1 Samuel 2:12–17) and even engaged in sexual acts with women at the very gate of the tabernacle—Israel’s tent of meeting and primary place of worship (v. 22). Verse 12 describes them as “scoundrels” and verse 17 adds that “this sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight.” So severe was their activity that a “man of God” later came to Eli and chastened him for honouring his sons more than God, pronouncing a verdict of judgment upon the house of Eli (vv. 27–36).
Bill Crowder
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