28 October 2026

Entering the silence of God and listening to his living Word helps us to listen to others and speak the words which come from God’s heart. Both Eli and Samuel were exemplars of this. The words which they spoke had their home in the heart of God.

When Eli heard Samuel’s prophecy about the destruction of his own family, he simply said, ‘It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.’ He made no attempt to justify his family. No amount of words could change the truth. His relationship with God gave him the self-control not to say any more than needed to be said.

When Samuel grew up, he spoke to the people and as the writer says, ‘all Israel listened’. The words which he spoke were powerful precisely because they came from God. In order to speak, he had to listen and in listening to God he discovered  the right words to speak on every occasion. ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’ was his childhood prayer.

Eli was a man of few words and Samuel was a man whose words were listened to by everyone. Their words were born out of the silence of God. The one exercised self-control. The other humility. And these are the qualities which we try to espouse in order to speak the Word of God.