A boy who heard his name

The word of the LORD was rare in those days, the writer notes — there was no frequent vision. Into that silence God speaks, and the person he speaks to is a child sleeping in the sanctuary, given to God by a mother who had prayed for him and then let him go. Three times Samuel hears his name and runs to old Eli, who is half blind and whose own sons are corrupt. On the third time Eli understands, and — to his credit — tells the boy how to answer: speak, LORD, for your servant hears. The first message Samuel ever receives is a judgement on Eli's house, and he has to deliver it to Eli's face in the morning. He does. God does not consider youth a disqualification, and he does not soften a true word because it is awkward.