Speak, LORD, Your Servant is Listening

Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Invitation to Listen

Lent begins quietly.

Ash Wednesday does not rush us forward. It slows us down. Ashes on the forehead remind us of a simple truth we often forget: we are human, we are limited, and we need God. We come from dust, and to dust we return — not as a threat, but as an invitation to honesty. Life is fragile. Control is an illusion. And grace is a gift.

In a world filled with noise — constant opinions, endless updates, and pressure to react — Ash Wednesday asks us to do something countercultural: listen.

This Lent, we are taking seriously the ancient prayer spoken by a young boy named Samuel:

“Speak, LORD — your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:9)

Samuel lived in a time when Scripture says the word of the Lord was rare and vision was dim. The world around him was spiritually confused, and the leaders before him were failing. Samuel did not yet understand everything God was doing. He was young. He was uncertain. But when God called his name, Samuel learned to make himself available. He listened.

That posture — open, humble, attentive — is the posture Lent invites us to take.

Listening, in the biblical sense, is not passive. It is not just hearing words. Biblical listening involves the heart, the will, and the courage to respond. Throughout Scripture, to “hear” God means to attend, to trust, and eventually to obey. Listening forms us before it sends us.

Ash Wednesday reminds us that real spiritual change does not begin with fixing everything. It begins with paying attention. Before reconciliation comes responsibility. Before action comes discernment. Before repair comes listening.

This Lent, we are not trying to recreate a world that once worked for us. We are not driven by nostalgia or fear. God is not calling us backward — He is calling us deeper. He is teaching us how to live faithfully in the world we actually live in.

As we practice listening, God reshapes our hearts. He reorders our priorities. He strengthens our relationships. He prepares us to participate in His work of healing and reconciliation — in our families, our church, and our wider world.

Lent is a season of formation.Ash Wednesday is the doorway.

We begin simply. We begin together. We begin with this prayer:

Speak, LORD — your servant is listening.

May this season teach us not only how to hear God’s voice, but how to live as people shaped by it.