Article October 28, 1944 Issue

"Thy servant heareth"

BERENICE H. SILBERBERG

THE story of Samuel, the child who was brought up in the temple at Shiloh, is one much loved by all Bible readers.

When Samuel was still a young boy, one evening after he had lain down for the night he heard a voice calling him. Thinking it was Eli, the priest whom he served, calling to him, Samuel went to Eli, who told him that he had not called and that he should lie down again. After this had occurred the third time Eli realized that it was the voice of God speaking to the child, and told him to answer, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." This the child obediently did.

Mary Baker Eddy tells in her autobiography, "Retrospection and Introspection" (pp. 8, 9), of having had a similar experience when she was eight years old; in fact, she heard the voice many times, and thought it was her mother's. Finally her mother read to her the Scriptural narrative of Samuel, and told her to answer as he did. After she had this, she never heard the call again. These two children possessed in common the qualities which characterize a good servant, the willingness to listen and to obey; and as they grew up they retained, through their childlike purity and trust in good, their ability to hear the voice of God. It is not difficult to see why both became great prophets and benefactors of the human race.

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