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Samuel Hears God's Voice

Reference: 1 Samuel 3

Big Idea: God speaks to those who are listening, no matter how young they are.

Teacher Quick Reference

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Lesson: Samuel Hears God's Voice
Scripture: 1 Samuel 3
Big Idea: God speaks to those who are listening, no matter how young they are.
Three Main Points:
  1. Samuel was a young boy serving in the tabernacle with Eli the priest.
  2. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; people weren't listening.
  3. God called Samuel's name in the night, but Samuel thought it was Eli.
  4. After the third time, Eli realized it was God and told Samuel how to answer.
  5. Samuel answered, 'Speak, for Your servant is listening,' and God gave him a message.
Activity: Who Is Calling? (Active Listening Game)
Memory Verse: 1 Samuel 3:9
Take-Home Truth:
"I am never too young for God to speak to me, if I am willing to listen."

Teacher Preparation

Before class:

  • Read 1 Samuel 3 (BSB). You may also want to skim chapter 1 for the backstory of Hannah’s prayer.
  • Note the spiritual climate of the time: 1 Samuel 3:1 says, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.” The adult leaders (like Eli and his wicked sons) were failing to honor God.
  • Prepare a blindfold for the Who Is Calling? activity.
  • Write the memory verse on the board.
  • Decide which age adaptation will work best for your classroom.

Opening Activity: The Whisper Test

Ask the children to spread out around the room. Tell them: “I am going to give you an instruction. But I am going to whisper it as quietly as I possibly can. Let’s see who is listening carefully enough to hear it.”

Wait until the room is completely silent. Then, in the quietest whisper you can manage, say: “If you can hear my voice, touch your nose.” Wait and see who does it. Try again: “If you can hear my voice, stand on one foot.”

Explain: “If you were talking to your neighbor, or making noise with your shoes, you probably missed the instruction. You can only hear a whisper if you are completely quiet and listening carefully. Today we are going to learn about a boy who heard a voice in the middle of the night, and had to learn how to listen.”

The Bible Story

1. A Boy in the Tabernacle

Before Samuel was born, his mother Hannah was very sad because she didn’t have any children. She prayed at the tabernacle (the tent where God’s presence lived) and promised God that if He gave her a son, she would dedicate him to serving the Lord for his whole life. God answered her prayer!

When Samuel was old enough, Hannah brought him to live at the tabernacle with the old priest, Eli. Samuel wore a little linen ephod (a priest’s garment) and helped Eli keep the lamps burning and the doors open.

But things in Israel were not good. Eli’s sons were very wicked, and Eli didn’t stop them. Because the people were disobeying God, the Bible tells us:

“In those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.” (1 Samuel 3:1, BSB)

2. A Voice in the Dark

One night, Eli was asleep in his room. His eyes were getting very weak. Samuel was lying down in the temple area, near the Ark of God.

Suddenly, a voice called out: “Samuel!” Samuel immediately jumped up. He was a good helper! He ran straight to Eli’s room and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli looked at him in confusion. “I did not call,” Eli said. “Go back and lie down.”

3. Three Times!

Samuel went back to bed. But a few minutes later, the voice called again: “Samuel!” Again, Samuel jumped up, ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Eli sighed. “My son, I did not call. Go back and lie down.”

The Bible explains why this kept happening: “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” (1 Samuel 3:7). Samuel knew about God, but he hadn’t actually heard God speak to him personally yet.

A third time, the voice called: “Samuel!” Samuel ran to Eli a third time. Finally, the old priest realized what was happening. Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy!

4. “Speak, for Your Servant is Listening”

Eli gave Samuel very specific instructions.

“So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if He calls you, say, “Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” (1 Samuel 3:9, BSB)

Samuel went back to his bed in the dark. His heart must have been beating so fast. Then, the Lord came and stood there, calling just as before: “Samuel! Samuel!”

This time, Samuel didn’t run to Eli. He stayed right where he was, and he answered exactly as he was taught: “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

5. A Hard Message

God didn’t just tell Samuel a sweet bedtime story. God gave Samuel a very serious, difficult message. God told Samuel that He was going to judge Eli’s family because Eli’s sons had done evil things and Eli hadn’t stopped them.

The next morning, Samuel was terrified to tell Eli the message. But Eli asked him, and Samuel bravely told him everything. He didn’t hide a single word.

Because Samuel was willing to listen and brave enough to speak the truth, God was with him as he grew up. Samuel became one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history, because he never stopped listening to God.

The Deeper Meaning

In a time when all the important adult leaders in Israel were ignoring God, God bypassed all of them and spoke to a child. Why? Because Samuel had a heart that was ready to listen.

When Samuel said, “Your servant is listening,” he didn’t mean he was just hearing the words. In the Bible, “listening” to God means “obeying” God. Samuel was saying, “Whatever You tell me to do, I am ready to do it.” God still speaks to us today—mostly through His Word, the Bible. But if we want to hear Him, we have to quiet our hearts, put away distractions, and be willing to obey whatever we read.

Three Things to Remember

1. You Are Not Too Young

God didn’t wait for Samuel to grow a beard and become an adult. God spoke to him while he was a boy. God can use you right now, at the exact age you are. Teacher Question: What is something you can do for God right now, without having to wait until you are a grown-up?

2. We Need Help to Understand

Samuel didn’t know it was God at first. He needed Eli to help him understand. When we are learning about God, it is good to ask older, wiser Christians (like parents or teachers) to help us understand the Bible. Teacher Question: Who is someone you can ask when you have a confusing question about God?

3. Listening Means Obeying

Samuel proved he was really listening by doing the hard thing God asked him to do (telling Eli the truth). If we hear God’s Word but refuse to do it, we aren’t really listening. Teacher Question: Is it hard to obey when God tells you to do something difficult, like telling the truth when you are scared?

Age Adaptations

Preschool (Ages 3-5)

Younger Children

For younger children (ages 5–7), focus on the repetitive humor of Samuel waking Eli up, and the importance of having listening ears.

Simplified concepts:

  • Samuel was a little boy who lived in God’s special tent (the tabernacle) and helped the old priest, Eli.
  • While Samuel was sleeping, he heard his name! “Samuel!”
  • He ran to Eli three times! But Eli said, “I didn’t call you! Go to sleep!”
  • Finally, Eli figured out it was GOD calling Samuel!
  • Samuel learned to say, “Speak, God, I am listening.”

Developmentally appropriate questions:

  • Did Eli call Samuel’s name? (No).
  • Who was calling Samuel in the dark? (God).
  • Does God love little children? (Yes!).
Upper Elementary (Grades 4-6)

Older Children

For older children (ages 8–11), focus on the spiritual climate (“the word of the Lord was rare”) and the courage it took for Samuel to deliver a hard message.

Deeper discussion: God gave Samuel a message of judgment against his own mentor (Eli). This was an incredibly heavy burden for a young person.

Discussion Scenarios:

  • Scenario 1: Imagine God tells you to point out a sin in your best friend’s life. How would you feel? Samuel had to tell his beloved teacher that God was bringing judgment. True listening means accepting everything God says, even the hard parts.
  • Concept: How does God speak to us today? We don’t usually hear an audible voice in the middle of the night. God speaks to us primarily through the Bible, and through the quiet conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Discussion Questions

Understanding

  1. Why was Samuel living in the tabernacle with Eli? (Because of his mother Hannah’s promise).
  2. What happened the first three times Samuel heard the voice?
  3. What did Eli tell Samuel to say the next time he heard the voice?
  4. What was the difficult message God gave to Samuel?
  5. Did Samuel hide the message from Eli the next morning?

Thinking

  1. Why do you think the word of the Lord was “rare” in those days? Were people listening?
  2. Why did God choose to speak to a young boy instead of the adult priests?
  3. How do you think Samuel felt when he had to tell Eli the bad news?

Personal Application

  1. What are some things in your life that are so “noisy” they make it hard to hear God? (Video games, TV, being too busy, bad friends).
  2. How can you practice saying “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” when you open your Bible?
  3. If God wants you to do something hard this week, will you do it?

Activity Time

Activity Resource: Who Is Calling? View Standalone →

Type: Active Listening Game
Time: 10 minutes
Group Size: 5+
Materials:

  • A blindfold (a bandana or sleep mask).

Purpose

To help children understand how confusing it was for young Samuel to hear a voice in the dark without knowing who it belonged to, emphasizing the importance of listening carefully.

Setup

Have all the children sit in a wide circle on the floor.

Exact Instructions

  1. Choose one child to be “Samuel” and have them sit perfectly still in the center of the circle.
  2. Carefully place the blindfold over their eyes so they cannot see.
  3. Explain the rules to the group: “The room must be completely silent. I am going to point to one person in the circle. That person will softly call out the name of the person in the middle, just like God called Samuel.”
  4. Point to a child in the circle. That child says, “Samuel, Samuel!” (using the real name of the child in the center, e.g., “David, David!”).
  5. The child in the center must point in the exact direction the voice came from, and guess the name of the person who called them.
  6. If they guess incorrectly, they get two more tries.
  7. Rotate a new child into the center and play several rounds.
  8. Twist: For older kids, allow the person calling to slightly disguise their voice to make it harder.

Discussion

Ask the children who were in the center: “Was it hard to figure out who was calling you when you couldn’t see them?” “How carefully did you have to listen to the sound?”

Connection Back to the Bible Story

Explain: “Samuel heard his name being called in the middle of the night, but he couldn’t see anyone. He thought it was Eli, the old priest. It took three tries before they realized it was God calling his name! Samuel had to learn how to stop, hold still, and listen very carefully to hear the voice of God.”

Craft Time

Activity Resource: Listening Ears Headband View Standalone →

Materials:

  • Construction paper (cut into long strips for the headband)
  • Paper plates (or thick cardstock cut into giant ear shapes)
  • Stapler or tape
  • Markers or crayons

Templates:

📄 Giant Ears Template

Purpose

To create a fun, wearable craft that reminds children of Samuel’s willing heart and his famous response: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Setup

Finished Listening Ears

  1. Cut construction paper into long strips (you will need to staple two strips together to fit around a child’s head).
  2. Cut the paper plates (or cardstock) into giant, oversized ear shapes. You need two giant ears per child.

Instructions

  1. Decorate: Give each child a pair of giant paper ears and let them decorate them however they like.
  2. The Verse: On one ear, have them write “Speak, LORD.” On the other ear, have them write “I am listening.”
  3. Assemble: The teacher should staple or tape the giant ears to the sides of the construction paper headband.
  4. Wear it: Wrap the headband around the child’s head, measure it so it fits snugly, and staple it closed.
  5. Practice: Have all the children put on their giant listening ears. Whisper instructions to them from across the room (e.g., “Touch your nose,” “Spin in a circle”) to test how well their giant ears work!

Discussion While Crafting

  • “How many times did God call Samuel’s name before Samuel figured out who it was?” (Three times!).
  • “Who did Samuel think was calling him at first?” (Eli).
  • “When God speaks to us today, is it usually a loud booming voice, or a quiet whisper in our heart?” (A quiet whisper, or through reading the Bible).
  • “When you wear these giant ears, remember that God wants you to be ready to listen to Him every single day.”

Memory Verse

1 Samuel 3:9 (BSB)
”…Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.”

Practical Way to Teach:

  • Teach this verse using sign language or distinct motions.
  • “Speak, LORD,” (Point to your mouth, then point up to heaven).
  • “for Your servant” (Bow slightly, placing a hand on your chest).
  • “is listening.” (Cup both hands behind your ears).
  • Repeat several times, getting quieter and quieter until you are whispering it, emphasizing the idea of listening.

Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

Question 1 of 5

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Application

You don’t have to wait until you are an adult to serve God. This week, when you read a Bible verse, or when your parents teach you something from Scripture, practice having the attitude of Samuel. Say, “God, I am listening, and I want to obey You.”

Take-Home Challenge

When you go to bed tonight, before you fall asleep in the dark, pray the words of Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.” Ask God to help you hear His truth in the Bible tomorrow.

Closing Thought

God didn’t choose the most important person in Israel to deliver His message. He chose a child who was willing to listen. Your age doesn’t limit what God can do through you. If you have a heart that is ready to listen and obey, God can use you to do incredible things.

Closing Prayer

“Heavenly Father, thank You that You speak to us through Your Word, the Bible. Forgive us for the times when we let the world get so noisy that we forget to listen to You. Give us the heart of young Samuel. Help us to say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening,’ and give us the courage to obey what we hear. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

One-Minute Teacher Quick Reference

SAMUEL HEARS GOD’S VOICE
1 Samuel 3

Big Idea

God speaks to those who are listening, no matter how young they are.

Memory Verse

”…Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.” — 1 Samuel 3:9 (BSB)

Three Points

  1. You Are Not Too Young
  2. We Need Help to Understand
  3. Listening Means Obeying

Opening

The Whisper Test (A quiet game showing that you can only hear a whisper if you are really listening).

Activity

Who Is Calling? (A blindfolded game about identifying voices in the dark).

Take-Home Truth

I am never too young for God to speak to me, if I am willing to listen.

Closing

Pray for a heart that is eager to listen to God’s Word and quick to obey it.