When Samuel was a little boy there was not a zeal for God among the leadership of Israel. Eli had not raised his sons properly to fear the Lord, and they had all grown fat, both literally and figuratively, through their disdain for God's people and their sacrifices. When people allow their hearts to grow cold to God, they stop being able to listen and hear his voice.

Just as young children learn how to understand the meaning of words over time, when we are young in the Lord we need to learn how to discern the voice of God. The boy Samuel could hear God's voice, but he didn't know how to discern it from the voice of his master, Eli. It took Eli teaching him to listen and to respond to the voice of God for Samuel to begin his journey in hearing God's voice. Of course that journey lead him to become one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. But every New Testament believer can hear God's voice today, and discern His voice to share God's message of love with others.

Hebrews 5:14 says that those were mature, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern between good and evil. Eli had allowed himself to become spiritually, physically, and mentally lazy. He had stopped listening for the voice of the Lord. So when Samuel heard God's voice, but didn't know it was God, Eli didn't recognize God was communicating until the third time it happened. We need to be careful that we do not allow ourselves to grow spiritually lazy. Instead, we need to constantly be listening for God to speak to us and then share that message with others.

The Bible says that God is not willing any should perish but that all she come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Scripture says that God is slow to anger (Numbers 14:18), and quick to forget. God sent Eli to warn his sons to repent and turn away from their wickedness. Then he sent a man of God to bring a further warning to them. But Phineas and Hophni would not repent, and so God's judgment came to them. We need to be careful to keep short accounts with God and to not allow there to be ongoing unrepentant sin in our lives. The wages of sin are still death if we refuse to repent and seek God's forgiveness for the sin in our lives. We may not lose our salvation, but ongoing sin will hinder our relationship with God and cause tragedy in our lives if we allow it to go unchecked.

Prophecy is simply hearing God speak, then repeating exactly what He said to others without adding or taking anything away from it. If God can speak to a young boy like Samuel, and he can grow up to become a great prophet who influenced all of Israel, then any New Testament believer with the Holy Spirit residing within them can hear God's voice and can become a mighty man or woman of God if they will learn to listen and obey.