"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." These words of the young prophet, Samuel, are at the heart of our relationship with God. It is the attitude of letting go control in prayer. Like Samuel, we may misread the call of the Lord in our life in the present moment. But God is persistent in his outreach to us, as he was to Samuel. When the young boy uttered these words, he did not know the full consequences of this surrender to the Lord. This was the beginning of his journey with the Lord, even though he was consecrated to the Lord by his parents. We were consecrated to the Lord in Baptism. Like Samuel, we too knew about the Lord. But it isn't until we submit ourselves consciously to the will of God, will we begin to know the Lord himself. In this grace-encounter, Samuel's life was forever changed. In our grace-encounter, our lives become focused more on the Lord that anything else. "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" is not a one time response, but a continual response as we grow in wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.