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Dr. Benjamin Mays once served as president of Morehouse College. For 27 years, he was a mentor for hundreds of students. Many left that school to make significant contributions to America. One of his famous mentees was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King referred to Dr. Mays as his spiritual mentor and intellectual father. The key to benefiting from a mentor is listening and following the mentor’s counsel. That is what made the boy Samuel such a great prophet in ancient Israel. He was the son of a formerly barren mother, Hannah. Her childlessness moved her to pray. God answered her prayer and Samuel was born. She kept her promise and dedicated her son to serve in the Temple. We find in 1 Samuel 3, that there in the Temple he heard the voice of God calling him. His readiness to listen and obey moved him to say to God, “Speak, your servant is listening” (from v. 10). Samuel’s eagerness to obey positioned him to become God’s choice to be a judge and prophet. He anointed Saul as Israel’s first king. He anointed David to be king, and David became the ancestor of Jesus the Messiah who has brought salvation to the entire world. Suffice it to say, however, God would never have used him this way if he had been unwilling to listen and obey God. God seldom, if ever, reveals His purpose for us until and unless we are ready to listen and obey.
