--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Have you noticed the words which Old…" description: "\"“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say \"What?\" or \"Yes?\" They answer with..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_old-testament_have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-tes_2830840.jpg" --- # Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use… ![“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say "What?" or "Yes?" They answer with the curious sentence, "Here I am". So much is in that sentence: readiness to respond, a willing servitude, an offering of oneself to the other And…” quote by Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_old-testament_have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-tes_2830840.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_old-testament_have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-tes_2830840.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/walter-wangerin-jr-25465_old-testament_have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-tes_2830840.jpg) > ““Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say "What?" or "Yes?" They answer with the curious sentence, "Here I am". So much is in that sentence: readiness to respond, a willing servitude, an offering of oneself to the other And the strongest trust is built by the smallest actions, the keeping of the little promises. It is the constant truthfulness, the continued dependability, the remembrance of minor things, which most inspire confidence and faith”” [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Answering a divine call with readiness, humility, and consistent reliability builds deep trust and faith. **In simple terms:** Readiness and faithful small acts foster trust. Key Takeaway Cultivate reliability in everyday promises. Themes faith trust service humility relationships Mood reverent inspirational reflective Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - Worship services - personal reflection - mentoring - team leadership Key Concepts Theology psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What small promises can you keep today? - How does readiness affect relationships? A Different Perspective Reliance on small promises can be fragile if larger commitments fail. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say "What?" or "Yes?" They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-testament-people-use-when/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“And the strongest trust is built by the smallest actions, the keeping of the little promises. It is the constant truthfulness, the continued dependability,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/and-the-strongest-trust-is-built-by-the-smallest-actions-the-keeping/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [I have a great deal of confidence in myself and in my faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/i-have-a-great-deal-of-confidence-in-myself-and-in-my-faith/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [The true confidence which is faith in Christ, and the true diffidence which is utter distrust of myself--are identical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/the-true-confidence-which-is-faith-in-christ-and-the-true-diffidence/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I've always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication, and desire, but for me, it's also been about confidence and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-curry/i-ve-always-believed-that-success-for-anyone-is-all-about-drive/) [Stephen Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-curry/) > [“The greatest defect we have in our prayers and in all that happens to us, particularly in that which concerns tribulations, is our lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-francis-de-sales/the-greatest-defect-we-have-in-our-prayers-and-in-all-that-happens-to/) [St. Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-francis-de-sales/) > [The confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust be right, then is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-confidence-and-faith-of-the-heart-alone-make-both-god-and-an-idol/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I have always been up for risks, but only because I had full confidence and faith in the vision of my directors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhay-deol/i-have-always-been-up-for-risks-but-only-because-i-had-full/) [Abhay Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhay-deol/) > [“Perhaps there is more understanding and beauty in life when the glaring sunlight is softened by the patterns of shadows. Perhaps there is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-m-axline/perhaps-there-is-more-understanding-and-beauty-in-life-when-the/) Virginia M. Axline > [I always pray before the game. I have a big-time belief in that. It just gives me that extra boost, the confidence, the faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-parker/i-always-pray-before-the-game-i-have-a-big-time-belief-in-that-it/) [Jabari Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-parker/) > [Doubt is a virus that attacks our self-esteem, productivity and confidence. Faith that you and your life are perfectly unfolding is the strongest vaccine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-stephenson/doubt-is-a-virus-that-attacks-our-self-esteem-productivity-and/) [Sean Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-stephenson/) > [“Here is the humble confidence of faith - that what God begins shall not miscarry and those whom He leads shall not be lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/here-is-the-humble-confidence-of-faith-that-what-god-begins-shall-not/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [I have a great amount of confidence and faith in my abilities to write. There are other areas of my life where I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-have-a-great-amount-of-confidence-and-faith-in-my-abilities-to/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life become more secure, more fraught with action, richer in experience and achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/think-positively-and-masterfully-with-confidence-and-faith-and-life/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [When doubt becomes an obstacle in progress, faith paves the way to move forward.Doubt let you down & erodes your confidence,faith takes on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/when-doubt-becomes-an-obstacle-in-progress-faith-paves-the-way-to/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) ## More by Walter Wangerin Jr > [“Eurus thrashes, but Rutt holds on. She crushes the bones of his jaws and still holds on until he suffocates and dies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/eurus-thrashes-but-rutt-holds-on-she-crushes-the-bones-of-his-jaws/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“He went wordless, and wordless he sat beside her. He knew the size of her sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/he-went-wordless-and-wordless-he-sat-beside-her-he-knew-the-size-of/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Her ballad did nothing to make the serpants lovely. Her ballad hid nothing of their dread. But the music itself spoke of faith and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/her-ballad-did-nothing-to-make-the-serpants-lovely-her-ballad-hid/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“WELL, THEN SHAG IT, YOU SUITCASE! GET OVER HERE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/well-then-shag-it-you-suitcase-get-over-here/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say "What?" or "Yes?" They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/have-you-noticed-the-words-which-old-testament-people-use-when/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“I agreed Paul knew his limits. But I never believed he'd choose to live within them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/i-agreed-paul-knew-his-limits-but-i-never-believed-he-d-choose-to/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“But the talk of dialogue involves the work of knowing, acknowledging the other, of shaping speech toward him, for her. It is neither done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/but-the-talk-of-dialogue-involves-the-work-of-knowing-acknowledging/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Volunteering" also honours the sort of work your spouse is obliged to do if you choose cheerfully to do it for him or her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/volunteering-also-honours-the-sort-of-work-your-spouse-is-obliged-to/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“In the bedroom the truer, unpremeditated behavior of intimacy appears, the way this spouse relates to others on the most personal level, body to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/in-the-bedroom-the-truer-unpremeditated-behavior-of-intimacy-appears/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“And the strongest trust is built by the smallest actions, the keeping of the little promises. It is the constant truthfulness, the continued dependability,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/and-the-strongest-trust-is-built-by-the-smallest-actions-the-keeping/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“And "sharing the work of survival," therefore, means resisting every temptation towards independence, towards personal liberty, towards "doing your own thing". This takes s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/and-sharing-the-work-of-survival-therefore-means-resisting-every/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“For what was your gesture? An act of pure love for Jesus particularly. It was an act so completely focused upon the Christ that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/for-what-was-your-gesture-an-act-of-pure-love-for-jesus-particularly/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“: “Behold the Rooster who suffers much more than he must. Ah, Chauntecleer, Chauntecleer. Why do you suffer today and tomorrow?” oozed the compassionate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/behold-the-rooster-who-suffers-much-more-than-he-must-ah-chauntecleer/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“Almost as evil as the stench was the silence. Senex, however poorly he had ended his rule, had always remembered the canonical crows. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/almost-as-evil-as-the-stench-was-the-silence-senex-however-poorly-he/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [“How many battles make a war?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/how-many-battles-make-a-war/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) [Explore all 23 Walter Wangerin Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) ## More Old testament quotes > [“days of the earliest Church? I ask you: Do you want things to go on as usual, or do you want to see God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/days-of-the-earliest-church-i-ask-you-do-you-want-things-to-go-on-as/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [“Jesus and Paul knew the Old Testament completely. Their comments about divorce were meant to add to, not replace or change, what was already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-abbott/jesus-and-paul-knew-the-old-testament-completely-their-comments-about/) Caroline Abbott > [“Jesus was not just a man filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or blessed with the presence of God, like the prophets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-norris/jesus-was-not-just-a-man-filled-with-the-baptism-of-the-holy-spirit/) S.G. Norris > [“May Christ, indeed, be the theme of your song. CONCLUSION If you are like me, this may be the first thing in the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/may-christ-indeed-be-the-theme-of-your-song-conclusion-if-you-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Intellectualism is a poor master over passion”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twe-stephens/intellectualism-is-a-poor-master-over-passion/) Twe Stephens > [“‎A careful reading of the Old and New Testaments shows that idolatry is nothing like the crude picture that springs to mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-keyes/a-careful-reading-of-the-old-and-new-testaments-shows-that-idolatry/) Richard Keyes > [Who wrote the Bible? Current scholarship, to my knowledge, assumes that the material that constitutes the Old Testament was put together from various oral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/who-wrote-the-bible-current-scholarship-to-my-knowledge-assumes-that/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“When we connect the death of Christ to the Old Testament, as Paul tells us we should,45 we can see the destruction of Jerusalem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-j-h-wright-2/when-we-connect-the-death-of-christ-to-the-old-testament-as-paul/) [Christopher J.H. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-j-h-wright-2/) > [Calvin founded a little theocracy, modeled after the Old Testament, and succeeded in erecting the most detestable government that ever existed, except the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/calvin-founded-a-little-theocracy-modeled-after-the-old-testament-and/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/my-father-my-rastafari-culture-has-a-tight-link-to-the-jewish-culture/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Sunday morning came – next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sunday-morning-came-next-day-the-battalions-would-leave-for-the-front/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The call to “take the land” ...is not a call to a new political, cultural or geographical dominance. It is Kingdom of God territory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-baker/the-call-to-take-the-land-is-not-a-call-to-a-new-political-cultural/) Ken Baker > [“Somehow, Matheus expected the night he died to be fraught with weather straight out of the Old Testament: thunderstorms and hurricane winds and floods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/somehow-matheus-expected-the-night-he-died-to-be-fraught-with-weather/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [“Which God is the forgiving one, exactly? Old Testament, where He got His rocks off by smiting? Or New Testament, once Our Heavenly Father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomm-quackenbush/which-god-is-the-forgiving-one-exactly-old-testament-where-he-got-his/) [Thomm Quackenbush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomm-quackenbush/) [Browse all 606 Old testament quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-testament/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Have you noticed the words which Old Testament people use when someone important calls them by name? They don't say \"What?\" or \"Yes?\" They answer with the curious sentence, \"Here I am\". So much is in that sentence: readiness to respond, a willing servitude, an offering of oneself to the other And the strongest trust is built by the smallest actions, the keeping of the little promises. 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