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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “prayer warrior”. A prayer warrior is a believer who relies on God for strength or empowerment to overcome obstacles or to make the impossible possible. Samson was the warrior and leader of Israel who single-handedly fought battles with the power of God. His victory was acknowledged by the Philistines when “they praised their god, saying, “Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.” (Judges 16:24) The Philistines were completely ignorant of the God of Samson. They had physically captured Samson, the warrior of Israel but they had no idea Samson’s strength as a warrior came from the Almighty God. Unknown to them, so long as Samson stood on his feet, he remained a warrior through faith and spiritual empowerment borne out of prayer. Samson may have lost his physical status as the warrior of Israel because of his imprisonment but spiritually he became a prayer warrior who received power from God to fulfill his destiny.

Although Samson died a tragic death, he fulfilled his destiny and purpose in the life of Israel. Samson’s calling and purpose in life are captured in Judges 13:5 when the Angel told his mother ” You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.” (Judges 13:5) Before Samson died, we are told that the Philistines brought Him to their temple. “Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. (Judges 16:27) Beloved in the Lord, God had gathered all Samson and Israel’s enemies under one roof for destiny to be fulfilled. “Then Samson prayed to the LORD, “Sovereign LORD, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes…Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived. ” (Judges 16:28,30) Dear friend, God is able to empower us through prayer to overcome challenges in our lives regardless of our fragile bodies and limited human abilities. Prayer enables us to become spiritual warriors so that we can experience Jesus’ assurance that “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26). The Philistines thought they had rendered Samson powerless by cutting his hair, gouging out his two eyes and putting him in the chain, but the most important weapon they could not take away from him is the weapon of prayer. Prayer was the invisible weapon that made Samson a warrior. Dear friend, prayer is an acknowledgement to God that we are limited and powerless therefore He should take over our battles and bring us victory. In other words, we are not warriors because of our physical strength, worldly possessions and power but we are warriors because of our faith in God and our ability to rely on Him through prayer to surmount or overcome the Philistines in our lives. The Philistines in our life can be in the form of sickness, disappointment, poverty or anything that has suppressed or held us captive physically, emotionally and spiritually. We are assured that through Prayer and faith, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to overpower or overcome our challenges. The power of prayer establishes the spiritual principle that God is able to use the minority to overcome the majority, this is evident when He used Samson to defeat over three thousand Philistines. Being a prayer warrior enables us to experience God’s power at work in His children, for this reason, John assures us that “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Shalom

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, empower us to become prayer warriors. Help us acknowledge the power of prayer in the believer’s life. May we always be sustained through prayer to remain strong during challenging times and be empowered for victory. Amen