Judges 13:6-10: a reflection

6Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name; 7but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink. Don’t eat any unclean thing, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” 8Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, “Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us, and teach us what we should do to the child who shall be born.” 9God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but Manoah, her husband, wasn’t with her. 10The woman hurried and ran, and told her husband, saying to him, “Behold, the man who came to me that day has appeared to me.”

Manoah and his wife have been told by a man of God that they will have a son, who is to be set apart to God. And notice Manoah's response: he prays. Oh, Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us, and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born. He does not presume to know how to raise this special child on his own; he asks God for guidance, praying that they might be taught how to fulfill the responsibility God was giving them.

Notice what Manoah prayed for: guidance in the responsibility God was giving him. He was to raise a child set apart to God, a weighty task; and rather than presuming he knew how, he asked God to teach them what to do. He recognized his need of guidance for the responsibility before him, and brought that need to God in prayer, asking to be taught. His response to a God-given responsibility was to seek God's guidance for it.

That response, of praying for guidance in the responsibilities God gives us, is worth imitating, especially in weighty tasks like raising children. God gives us responsibilities, tasks we do not always know how to fulfill rightly; and we can presume to handle them on our own, or we can, like Manoah, ask God to teach us what to do. When God gives you a responsibility you feel unequal to, especially the raising of children or the care of others, do not presume to handle it on your own wisdom; pray, like Manoah, for God's guidance, asking him to teach you what to do. He gives responsibilities, and he gives guidance to those who ask for it. Bring the weighty tasks God gives you to him in prayer, asking for the wisdom to fulfill them rightly, as Manoah asked God to teach them how to raise the child God was giving. Do not carry your responsibilities on your own wisdom alone; seek God's guidance for them, as Manoah did.

Lord, when Manoah and his wife were told they would have a son set apart to you, Manoah prayed, please let the man of God come again and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born; he did not presume to know how to raise the child on his own, but asked you for guidance. Let his response be something I imitate, especially in weighty tasks like raising children. You give me responsibilities, tasks I do not always know how to fulfill rightly; and I can presume to handle them on my own, or I can, like Manoah, ask you to teach me what to do. When you give me a responsibility I feel unequal to, especially the raising of children or the care of others, keep me from presuming to handle it on my own wisdom; help me pray, like Manoah, for your guidance, asking you to teach me what to do. You give responsibilities, and you give guidance to those who ask for it. Help me bring the weighty tasks you give me to you in prayer, asking for the wisdom to fulfill them rightly, as Manoah asked you to teach them how to raise the child you were giving. Keep me from carrying my responsibilities on my own wisdom alone; help me seek your guidance for them, Lord, as Manoah did. Teach me what to do in the tasks you give me.