Samuel hears God at night, a bedtime story
Samuel hearing God at night is the story in 1 Samuel 3 of a boy sleeping in the house of the LORD while a lamp still burns. Three times he hears his name and runs to the old priest Eli. The third time Eli understands, and tells him how to answer. The verse to keep is Samuel’s reply: Speak; for your servant hears.
It makes a listening prayer a child can say in bed.
Before you read
This is 1 Samuel 3. Samuel was a boy who lived and served in the house of the LORD at Shiloh with an old priest named Eli. The story happens in the dark, with the lamp of God still burning, which makes it a natural bedtime story. The key verses (8 to 10) are printed in full below.
The message God gave Samuel that night was a hard one about Eli’s family, meant for grown ups (verses 11 to 18). This retelling leaves its content to one side. If your child asks whether God will call their name out loud, a kind and true answer is that God speaks in many ways, most often through the Bible and through people who love us, and that listening is a way to pray.
Long ago, in the house of the LORD at Shiloh, there lived a boy named Samuel. He helped an old priest named Eli. Eli’s eyes had grown dim, so he could not see well anymore, and Samuel served the LORD there beside him.
In those days, the Bible says, a word from the LORD was rare. People did not often hear God speak.
One night Eli was lying down in his own room. Samuel was lying down too, in the house of the LORD, near the ark of God. The lamp of God was still burning. It made a small gold glow in the big dark room. Outside, the night was still, and inside, the old house was quiet.
Everything was quiet. Then, into the quiet, the LORD called Samuel by name.
Samuel answered that he was there. He got up and ran to Eli. Here I am; for you called me.
But Eli said he had not called. He told Samuel to go back and lie down. So Samuel went back to his place and lay down.
The LORD called again. Samuel. Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. Here I am; for you called me.
And again Eli said he had not called. He called Samuel his son, and told him to lie down again.
You see, Samuel did not yet know the LORD. The LORD had never spoken to him before, and he did not know this was God’s voice.
Then the LORD called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, and padded across the floor to Eli, and said it again. Here I am; for you called me.
And this time old Eli understood. It was the LORD who was calling the boy.
So Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’
Samuel went back to his place in the dark, and he lay down. Maybe he pulled his blanket up to his chin. Maybe he lay very still and listened very hard. The lamp glowed softly.
Then The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel said, Speak; for your servant hears.
So the LORD spoke to Samuel, and Samuel listened to all of it. It was important, and it was for grown ups, and Samuel kept it carefully.
Then Samuel lay down until morning. This time he stayed, lying quietly in his place, in the dark, until the sky began to grow pale. When the sun came up, he got up and opened the doors of the house of the LORD, the way he did every day.
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him. All his life he listened for God, and he became a prophet who told God’s words to all the people.
Tonight your room is quiet, and the light is low. You can say Samuel’s prayer too, in a whisper: Speak; for your servant hears.
Then lie down in your place, like Samuel, and rest until morning.
The verse to keep
Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
A prayer to close
Dear God, thank you that you know my name. Help me listen to you, like Samuel did. Speak to me through the Bible and through the people who love me. Now I am lying down in my place. Keep me safe until morning. Amen.
Questions to talk about
- Samuel ran to Eli three times. Why do you think he did not know it was God?
- What did Eli tell Samuel to say? Can you say it with me?
- What are some ways God speaks to us?
Read it in the Bible
8The LORD called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
Questions people ask
How many times did God call Samuel?
God called Samuel four times that night. The first three times Samuel ran to Eli, and the fourth time he answered God, as Eli had taught him.
How old was Samuel when God called him?
The Bible does not give his age. It calls him a child (1 Samuel 3:8), and he was young enough to sleep in the house of the LORD and serve under Eli.