As part of our reading for today, we read 1 Samuel, chapters 1-3. We hear of the miraculous conception of Samuel who is dedicated from before his birth to serve the Lord by his mother: “And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11, ESV) Once Samuel was old enough, he was taken to serve the Lord at Shiloh. He grew, ministering to the Lord, serving Him, and grew in favor before God and men (1 Samuel 2:26). We know Samuel as a prophet of the Lord. Someone faithful to God. As a matter of fact, there is a tendency in our minds to see the prophets as the people who know God best because they were the mouthpiece of God to His people. Then we get to this verse, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” (1 Samuel 3:7). How are we to reconcile this verse with our conception of the prophets knowing God more because God spoke to them and gave them the word of what to say? For that, we go to the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11). Jesus lauds John the Baptist as the greatest prophet, yet He states that the least person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest prophet. Why is that? The answer is because even the least in the kingdom of heaven has been blessed with being indwelt by the Holy Spirit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and are led by the Holy Spirit into all truth, just as Jesus promised to His disciples. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13). This is why the least person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the greatest prophet. The Holy Spirit indwells us, led into all truth at every stage of our lives. We no longer have to wait until things are going bad for God to send someone along to inform us we are in sin and must repent or tell us how to serve God in a manner pleasing to Him. We have the Holy Spirit to do for us what Samuel and all other prophets before them didn’t have. Remember, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.” Yet we know the Lord because He dwells within us and has revealed Himself to us in His word through the Holy Spirit. I hope this truth strengthens and encourages you to delve deeper into your relationship with the Lord through the reading of His word.