Prudent Praying
“Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.” (Judges 13:8)
Manoah became the father of Samson. God has just sent an angel to inform Manoah’s wife that Manoah and his wife would have a child. This caused Manoah to pray the noble prayer of this verse. We note the focus of prayer, the faith in the prayer, and the family in the prayer.
Focus of the prayer. The emphasis of Manoah’s prayer was not on learning more about the promises, but it was on learning more about the precepts. Manoah wanted to know more about his responsibilities rather than his privileges. How noble! Most of our requests are to know more about what God is going to do for us rather than on what we should do for God. We need to pray more often like Manoah.
Faith in the prayer. In view of his situation and society, Manoah’s prayer revealed remarkable faith. In regards to his situation, Manoah’s wife had been barren for years. But Manoah’s faith was so great, he did not ask for confirmation of the promise but for help in raising the promised child. His faith was great in spite of his discouraging circumstances. In regards to his society, Manoah’s day was a day of apostasy. Many Israelites were given to the worship of the idol Baal. They did not believe Jehovah. But Manoah did. His faith was great in spite of the fact that unbelief was all around him.
Family in the prayer. Manoah’s request had to do with child training. His prayer teaches two great truths about child training. First, the guide for child training. Manoah felt the best place to get instructions for training the child was from God. Smart man. Newspaper columnists and worldly child psychologists are a poor substitute for God’s Word. Second, the governors in child training. Manoah also evidenced in this prayer that he believed the parents were the ones primarily responsible for raising the child He was not looking for day care centers, nannys, or government help. Would that we had more thinking like Manoah’s in our land.
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Daily Bible Reading: Sermonettes #1.
