Bible Lesson: Answered Prayer:
Samson Prays For Strength.
Subject Of Prayer: Samson Prayed
For Strength So That He Might Take Vengeance On The Philistines.
Bible Text:
Judges 16:15-31 NLT
15 Then Delilah pouted, “How can
you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets
with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still
haven’t told me what makes you so strong!”
16 She tormented him with her
nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 Finally, Samson shared his secret
with her. “My hair has never been cut,” he confessed, “for I
was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were
shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as
anyone else.”
18 Delilah realized he had finally
told her the Truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come
back one more time,” she said, “for he has finally told me his
secret.” So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their
hands.
19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep
with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off
the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down,
and his strength left him.
20 Then she cried out, “Samson!
The Philistines have come to capture you!”
When he woke up, he thought, “I
will do as before and shake myself free.”
But he didn’t realize
The Lord had
left him.
21 So the Philistines captured him
and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he was bound
with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison.
22 But before long, his hair began
to grow back.
23 The Philistine rulers held a
great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon.
They said, “Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!”
24 When the people saw him, they
praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy to us!
The one who killed so many of us is now in our power!”
25 Half drunk by now, the people
demanded, “Bring out Samson so he can amuse us!” So he was
brought from the prison to amuse them, and they had him stand between
the pillars supporting the roof.
26 Samson said to the young servant
who was leading him by the hand, “Place my hands against the
pillars that hold up the temple. I want to rest against them.”
27 Now the temple was completely
filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there, and there
were about 3,000 men and women on the roof who were watching as
Samson amused them.
28 Then Samson prayed to The
Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen
me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines
for the loss of my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson put his hands on the
two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with
both hands,
30 he prayed, “Let me die with
the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine
rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than
he had during his entire lifetime.
31 Later his brothers and other
relatives went down to get his body. They took him back home and
buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah, was
buried. Samson had judged Israel for twenty years.
From
the end of Joshua's reign to King Saul, was a time of the Judges,
some 15 in all, who were chosen of God, from out of every tribe. Some
military leaders, but not all, wise individuals of counsel and
wisdom.
The Judges Of
Israel:
Othniel (Judges
3:9)
Ehud (Judges 3:15)
Shamgar Judges
3:31)
Deborah (Judges 4:5
)
Gideon (Judges
6:36)
Abimelech (Judges
9:1)
Tola (Judges 10:1)
Jair (Judges 10:3)
Jephtah (Judges
11:11)
Ibzan (Judges 12:8)
Elon (Judges 12:11)
Abdon (Judges
12:13)
Samson (Judges
16:30)
Eli (I Samuel 4:18)
Samuel (I Samuel
7:15)
For Israel, there
seemed to be an endless cycle of Blessing, forgetfulness, apostasy,
judgment and repentance, and restoration.
Samson had killed many
Philistines, and they had tried to learn the secret of Samson's great
strength. Delilah, greatly loved by Samson, had tried to learn his
secret, so that she could relay it to the Philistines, and finally
she succeeded.
Blind and in chains, Samson prayed once
more to The Lord for strength.
Judges 16:28-30 NLT
28 Then Samson prayed to The
Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen
me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines
for the loss of my two eyes.”
29 Then Samson put his hands on the
two center pillars that held up the temple. Pushing against them with
both hands,
30 he prayed, “Let me die with
the Philistines.” And the temple crashed down on the Philistine
rulers and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than
he had during his entire lifetime.
God had answered Samson's prayer, and
the enemy of God's people were defeated.
Will God answer your prayer? He will if
you are His child, that's the first and most important thing to
consider.
Psalm 84:11 KJV
For The Lord God is a sun and
shield: The Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He
withhold from them that walk uprightly.
The second is, are you asking something
that is according to His will.
James 4:2,3 NLT
"... Yet you don’t have what
you want because you don’t ask God for it.
3 And even when you ask, you don’t
get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will
give you pleasure.
The third is are you asking in faith
that God hears and will answer you?
James 1:5-8 KJV
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him
ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and
it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing
wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with
the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he
shall receive any thing of The Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in
all his ways.
Fourthly, are you
taking the time to wait upon The Lord?
Luke 11:9 KJV
And I say unto you, Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.
We Serve A God
Who Answers Prayer!
Joshua 10:14 KJV
And there was
no day like that before it or after it, that The Lord hearkened unto
the voice of a man: for The Lord fought for Israel.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
I Chronicles
16:11 KJV
Seek The Lord
and His strength, seek His face continually.
Nehemiah 9:27
KJV
in the time of
their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them
Psalm 6:9 KJV
The Lord hath
heard my supplication; The Lord will receive my prayer.
Psalm 55:17 KJV
Evening, and
morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear
my voice.
Psalm 65:2 KJV
O thou that
hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Psalm 66:19 KJV
But verily God
hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Psalm 88:1,2 KJV
1 O lord God of
my Salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:
2 Let my prayer
come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;
Psalm 91:15 KJV
He shall call
upon Me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will
deliver him, and honor him.
Psalm 99:6,8 KJV
6 "...they
called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
8 Thou
answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest
them..."
Psalm 102:17 KJV
He will regard
the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Psalm 122:6 KJV
Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
Proverbs 15:8,29
KJV
8 The sacrifice
of the wicked is an abomination to The Lord: but the prayer of the
upright is His delight.
29 The Lord is
far from the wicked: but He heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Isaiah 38:5 KJV
“...I have
heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears...”
Isaiah 56:7 KJV
"... for
Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isaiah 58:9 KJV
Then shalt thou
call, and The Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say,
Here I am...:"
Isaiah 65;24 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.
Jeremiah 29:13
KJV
And ye shall
seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your
heart.
Zechariah 13:9
KJV
And I will
bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver
is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My people: and they
shall say, The Lord is my God.
Joel 2:32 KJV
And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The Lord shall
be delivered..."
Matthew 5:44 KJV
But I say unto
you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;
Matthew 6:6 KJV
But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Matthew 7:7,8
KJV
7 Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you:
8 For every one
that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 18:19,20
KJV
19 Again I say
unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any
thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father
which is in heaven.
20 For where
two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the
midst of them.
Matthew 21:22
KJV
And all things,
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 26:41
KJV
Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but
the flesh is weak.
Mark 11:24,25
KJV
24 Therefore I
say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
25 And when ye
stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your
Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 11:9,10 KJV
9 And I say
unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every
one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luke 18:1,7,8
KJV
1 And He spake
a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and
not to faint;
7 "...don’t
you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry
out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off?
8 I tell you,
He will grant justice to them quickly! But when The Son Of Man
returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”
Luke 21:36 KJV
Watch ye
therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before The Son
Of Man.
John 15:7 KJV
If ye abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it
shall be done unto you.
John 16:24 KJV
Hitherto have
ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy
may be full.
Ephesians 6:18
KJV
Praying always
with all prayer and supplication in The Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Philippians 4:6
NLT
Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you
need, and thank Him for all He has done.
Colossians 4:2
NLT
Devote
yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
I Thessalonians
5:17 KJV
Pray without
ceasing.
I Timothy 2:8
KJV
I will
therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without
wrath and doubting.
James 1:6 KJV
But let him ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to
God, and he will draw nigh to you
James
5:13-16 KJV
13 Is any among
you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick
among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of The Lord:
15 And the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and The Lord shall raise him up;
and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be
healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.
I Peter 4:7 KJV
But the end of
all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
I John 3:22 KJV
And whatsoever
we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight.
Revelation 8:3-5 NLT (Prayers heard and kept)
3 Then another
angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a
great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of
God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of
the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended
up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.
5 Then the
angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar..."
