Quicken Us Again
Intro
We’re looking at Samson’s story tonight—not just the Sunday School version with long hair and crazy strength, but the deeper lesson. Samson was chosen by God, full of potential, but he didn’t take his covenant seriously. His story is a warning, but also a picture of God’s mercy. We’ll connect it to James, where we see the call to prayer and holiness in our lives.
Section 1 — Samson’s Calling (Judges 13:1–5)
Samson’s story begins before he was even born. An angel tells his parents that their son would be set apart to God from birth. He was to be a Nazirite, a living sign that he belonged fully to God. His strength would come from the Spirit, not his own effort. But the sign of his covenant—never cutting his hair—reminded him and everyone else that he was supposed to live differently.
The problem? Samson didn’t really take this covenant seriously. He treated his calling lightly, flirted with compromise, and often lived for himself. The tragedy is that someone so gifted wasted so much of what God wanted to do through him. That’s the danger for us too. God has called us, gifted us, and filled us with His Spirit, but if we live carelessly, we’ll waste it.
Discussion Questions:
- What do you think it means to be “set apart” for God today?
- Why do you think God gives people signs or reminders (like Samson’s hair) of their covenant with Him?
- What are some “covenant markers” in our lives as followers of Jesus?
- How can someone waste their calling even if they’re really gifted?
- What’s the difference between talent and spiritual calling?
Section 2 — Samson’s Fall and Prayer (Judges 16:23–30)
By the end of Samson’s life, compromise had caught up with him. His enemies mocked him, blinded him, and chained him. The one who was supposed to deliver Israel was now humiliated. But in that lowest place, something powerful happened: Samson prayed. His hair had started to grow back, and in his final moment, he asked God for strength one more time. God heard him, and Samson brought down the temple of the Philistines.
This scene reminds us that even after failure, God can hear us when we turn back to Him. Samson wasted years, but God still used his final prayer. That’s both a warning and a hope. A warning not to play with sin, because compromise has consequences. But also a hope that God’s mercy runs deeper than our failure. It’s never too late to turn back to Him.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think Samson only turned to prayer when he hit rock bottom?
- What does Samson’s story teach us about the danger of compromise?
- Do you think God still answers prayers from people who have messed up? Why or why not?
- How can failure actually wake someone up to depend on God again?
- What does Samson’s final prayer show us about God’s mercy?
Section 3 — The Call to Prayer Together (James 5:13–16)
James doesn’t just tell us to pray on our own. He says, “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you.” Prayer in the Bible is not only personal, it’s communal. Pastor Dan reminded us: the altar isn’t private. It’s public. When one person comes forward, the whole church moves to pray. That’s how God designed His family—to carry one another’s burdens, to intercede for each other, and to show the world what real love looks like.
Too often, we treat prayer like something to hide or something only the pastor does. But James says every believer should be part of it. When we pray for each other, chains break, faith rises, and God moves. Imagine if our youth group was known as a place where students prayed boldly for each other at the altar. That’s how revival begins—not with one person praying quietly, but with a whole community contending together.
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think God wants us to pray with and for each other, not just by ourselves?
- What do you think keeps people from stepping out and asking for prayer publicly?
- How does it encourage your faith when you see someone else praying boldly?
- What’s the difference between a church that prays “about things” and a church that prays for each other?
- What would change in our youth group if we all took public, altar-centered prayer seriously?
Wrap-Up
Samson’s story warns us not to waste our calling with compromise, but it also shows us God’s mercy when we turn back to Him. James reminds us that prayer is the engine of revival in our lives and our church. Let’s not wait until the end like Samson. Let’s choose to pray now, together, and ask God to “quicken us again.”
