Hello everyone, sorry for the break. I have been ill recently and I didn’t have time to continue with the series, but I’m strong now, Thanks be to God. Let us carry on with the “Walkthrough the Major Prayers of the Bible”, with the book of Judges.

An American clergyman named Henry Ward Beecher, experienced many sorrow in his life and once said “There are many fruits that never turn sweet until the frost has lain upon them; there are many nuts that never fall from the bough of the tree of life till frost has opened and reopened them; and there are many elements of life that never grow sweet and beautiful till sorrow touches them.”

Now, we move onto the life of Samson. If you are aware of the life of Samson you will be aware that at first he was seen as a delight and then a shame to his parents. He always insisted in things been done in his own way, and he was determined to live life to the absolute fullest. If Samson was a 21st century dude, you could say he was all about the YOLO lifestyle. Therefore naturally, what Samson reaps from the lifestyle he had sown was a life filled with sorrow, so at the end we find him blind, bound in chains and drowning in humiliation. Samson was a man that started with such great promise but unfortunately ended up in disgrace.

However it is not all bad news, Sorrow did something for Samson. In Samson’s final days, he came to know God personally, in a way he had never done so throughout his life. The bible even says “Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived” (Judges 16:30). He accomplished more in his last days, how interesting is that?

What is even more interesting to me is that in his final moments he spent them praying and God heard and answered him. Here is his account;

Judges 16:25-31

²⁵ So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.²⁶ Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” ²⁷ Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed. ²⁸ Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!” ²⁹ And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. ³⁰ Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. ³¹ And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.

I wonder how Samson’s life would have been if he had learned to pray way before that very dark day when he was chained to the pillars in the temple. Imagine all the great things he would have been able to accomplish. Now what can we learn from this prayer encounter. In spite of Samson’s  past, God still answered his prayer and destroyed the pagan temple and worshipers. God still loved him, He was willing to hear Samson’s prayer of confession and repentance and use him that final time.

Now, one of the side-effects of sin in our lives is that it keeps us from feeling like praying.  We may feel like God will turn a deaf ear to our prayers because of our sinful lives, so we decide not to. But I’m telling you today that a perfect moral behavior is not a condition and requirement for prayer. Don’t let guilty feelings of sin keep you from your only means of restoration. No matter how long or how far you have strayed away from God, he is always ready to hear from you and restore you back onto good terms with him. Every situation can be restored if you are willing to turn back to Him. If God could still work during the 11th hour in Samson’s situation, he can certainly make something worthwhile out of yours.

So to conclude;

No matter how far you think you are from God turn back to him today; He is waiting for you to reach out to him and when you do so he will not forsake you. God can restore you from the Ruins.

Stay Blessed,

Dara x

P.S- I hope you are all enjoying the series so far, please share with friends and families so that they can be blessed. The next post in this series will be up on Friday, so be sure to check back :). By the way if anyone is interested in joining a Bible Study group that I am starting soon please let me know and I will send you details.