While Samson’s prayer may have begun well, it certainly does not end well. His prayer was motivated by self-centredness: he wants revenge for the loss of his eyes. So he says, And please strengthen me only this once, O God.
Here, in contrast to the earlier appearance of God
in the prayer, it is not all capitalized; Samson now uses the generic name for God: Elohim,
the same term used to refer to Dagon as god.
He continues, That I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.
This is not good. There are, to be sure, elements of faith in this prayer. He has been brought low, with no strength left, and that brings him to pray to the Lord. Yet much of his prayer is marked by self-interest, self-reference. He does not call for the Lord to remember his covenant, and to avenge his name that the Philistines have denied. And Samson shows no thought or concern for the task God had given him, to deliver the nation of Israel.1 There is no concern for the Lord, his reputation, his plans. All Samson wants is revenge for the loss of his eyes, the very organs that were the primary cause of all his woes (Judges 14:1, Judges 14:3, Judges 14:7; Judges 16:1, Judges 16:21).2 You wonder how much self-examination he did while grinding all that grain in the Philistine prison.
28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, “O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.”