How to pray when you have failed in life (Judges 16.24, 28) ‣ Praying Through the Bible

When the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.”
Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “Lord GOD, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Background

These two prayers come at the end of the story of Samson. Samson was dedicated to God at birth and was a “life-time” Nazarite. He did not drink alcohol, or cut his hair, or do any of the other things as required by the vow. He was a powerful leader of the Israelites and renowned for his feats of strength.

Temptations come to everyone. For Samson, it was the intimacy and love of a romantic relationship that was his downfall. Perhaps his calling had made him an outcast and he was lonely. Our greatest temptations do not usually come when we want to do something evil. It is our weaknesses that make us vulnerable to sin. Samson did not tire of serving God or become weary of his Nazarite way. Wanting to have someone to love is not a sin. But perhaps he wanted some companionship so much that it became a blind spot, which allowed his enemies to exploit it.

Samson fell in love with Delilah. When his enemies found out, they promised her a fabulous amount of money if she would discover his weakness. At first, Samson was firm. Joking, he gave her fake answers. He was light-hearted about her questions, and did not get angry.

But Delilah wore him down. We might wonder why he could not see she was not trustworthy. Why did she want to know? For whatever reason, he allowed her to manipulate him. Or perhaps, in a moment of sincerity and hopefulness, he thought he could trust her. He told her of his vow. She then cut his hair while he slept, which enabled his enemies to capture him. Delilah had betrayed him; his own actions allowed her to do it.