"Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." There's a huge difference between listening and hearing. Samuel heard the voice of the Lord calling him, but he did not listen properly, because he did not know how to. He thought it was Eli calling him. It's mentioned that "Samuel had as yet no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him." (1 Sam 3:7) It was Eli who realised that, after three times, it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he taught Samuel how to respond the next time the Lord called him; "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."

After the healing of Simon's mother-in-law, the people heard about it, so the whole town came crowding round the door for healing as well, because they heard about it. But did they really listen to the miracles of healing? Were they there purely for physical healing, or because they have listened and come to believe that the Messiah has arrived? Furthermore, Jesus Himself gave us an example of how to listen to God. He went off early in the morning to pray and to listen to His Father.

Do we listen to God in our daily lives, or do we just hear without realising that God is speaking to us and calling us? Our response should be like what the psalmist says today, "Here I am, Lord! I come to do Your Will."