Israel is a barren place. Worship has disintegrated. Eli, the High Preist, seems distracted and his sons rob the worshipers of their sacrifices and women. 1 Samuel tells us that, "The word of the Lord was rare in those days."We too know what it feels like to be distant from God. To remember his voice and find little evidence of it around us. But God calls Samuel. It is a bit of hope. God is at work again.Samuel and his family give us a picture of a God who persistently speaks to us by name and the ways we can position ourselves to most easily recognize it.