“In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry… The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them…. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.” (2 Samuel 22:7-8, 14-15,17–18, ESV)
When Gwen was going through a rough patch with her daughter’s health, she prayed desperately. As the scripture details above, she “called upon the Lord”. She asked God to give her strength. She asked for the wisdom to make life and death decisions for her daughter. She needed God’s help. Gwen’s daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of a stomach disease. The disease had decimated the child’s stomach and intestinal linings. This resulted in the child becoming sick, malnourished, and susceptible to illness. As the doctors at the Children’s Hospital put her daughter into a special room for immune-compromised patients, Gwen had to make supremely important decisions like which types of treatments to use, whether an experimental drug protocol would help, and who was allowed to be in her daughter’s room. Day after day, Gwen gowned up and entered the sterilized room afraid she would make a mistake would end her daughter’s young life. To fight the stress and fears and emotional turmoil, Gwen leaned on God’s strength and wisdom and protection.
When King David’s life was threatened, he too turned to God for strength and wisdom and protection. Our scripture for today from 2 Samuel 22 contains some of the very words David wrote when confronted with his life and death situation. Like Gwen, David knew that one wrong decision would imperil those he cared about. He turned to God. 2 Samuel 22:7 records that “in his distress”, David “called upon the Lord”. David believed that not only did God “hear his voice”, God responded with thunder (“the heavens trembled” as “the Lord thundered from heaven”-2 Samuel 22:14-15). God’s wrath came up against David’s enemies, who dared to attack God’s chosen one. God attacked David’s enemies and “routed them”. God “rescued” David from enemies that “were too mighty” for David to tackle alone (2 Samuel 22:17-18).
From the time David cried out to God until God’s wrath attacked his enemies was almost instant. For David, this was a clear sign that not only was God listening attentively to David’s prayers, but God was also more than willing to act in his defense. God didn’t wait for months to answer the prayer. God knew David needed help immediately. God came to David’s aid without hesitation. Because of the relationship between David and God, there was no hesitation on God’s part.
When your relationship with God is strong, not only will God listen attentively to your prayers, God will know what you need when you need it. God will act accordingly. God will not hesitate or ignore your prayer. God will act decisively and purposefully. At times, God waits to answer a prayer for a faithful person. Usually, this is due to unforeseen circumstances to which the person is unaware. God may not act right away in order to teach the person patience or so that the perfect circumstances may come about. However, when one of God’s children is in desperate need immediately, according to David’s experience and Gwen’s experience, God acts swiftly and surely.
You may think at times that God isn’t listening to your prayers, because your prayers aren’t being answered in the manner in which you thought would happen. That’s because God can see far down the road. God knows that answering all your prayers immediately does not help you to grow spiritually. It does not teach you patience or perseverance. Answering your prayers the way you would wish may at times be shortsighted or disastrous from God’s eternal perspective. God will answer you in the perfect way and at the perfect time.
In David’s situation, God needed to act immediately and with great power. Quickly, God responded with thunder and lightning and wrath and distress upon the enemies of David. Because David’s enemies were absolutely in the wrong, God was not going to let the evil continue upon His anointed. God answered swiftly, beating back David’s foes. There will be times when God will wisely wait to answer your prayers. However, if you have a great and immediate need, God will come through for you swiftly. You may not see it initially, but the signs will be there. God ALWAYS hears the cries of the faithful. God ALWAYS knows their situation. God ALWAYS wants the best for them. God ALWAYS loves them through.
When you need God, don’t hesitate to call upon Him. As a faithful believer, God will come through. You may not see it at first, but you can believe that God will act swiftly when needed and decisively when appropriate. God may wait to answer a prayer if the circumstances are not yet right. God may hold off on defeating your enemies if you need to face some test or trial. But throughout it all, God will be paying close attention to your situation. God will already have a plan in place the moment you call upon Him.
If you want God to act swiftly to your cries, remember the following things about the scripture for today…
David was close to God. He was called God’s chosen or God’s beloved. Even when David sinned, he made things right with God.
David called upon God when he had a need. He didn’t wait and try to fix it himself first.
David knew that when he called upon God, God would hear his cry. He knew for certain that God was that close.
David looked for God’s signs of action among his enemies. When David prayed, he expected God to answer. He knew God was Almighty. He knew God stands up for the innocent.
David didn’t tell God how to act. He only cried to the Lord. Don’t expect God to answer your prayers in the way you would will it. God will always have a better way to answer your prayer.
When David cried to God, he wasn’t afraid. He knew God would come through somehow.
David was awed and thankful at God’s response, ready to tell others of God’s faithfulness.
David was completely convinced that God would act. He knew God would closely monitor his prayers. It is supremely important that you have a strong and intimate relationship with God. It is crucial that you and God are close. That way, when you most need God, God will be there in a powerful way acting swiftly on your behalf.
When King David’s life was threatened, he too turned to God for strength and wisdom and protection. Our scripture for today from 2 Samuel 22 contains some of the very words David wrote when confronted with his life and death situation. Like Gwen, David knew that one wrong decision would imperil those he cared about. He turned to God. 2 Samuel 22:7 records that “in his distress”, David “called upon the Lord”. David believed that not only did God “hear his voice”, God responded with thunder (“the heavens trembled” as “the Lord thundered from heaven”-2 Samuel 22:14-15). God’s wrath came up against David’s enemies, who dared to attack God’s chosen one. God attacked David’s enemies and “routed them”. God “rescued” David from enemies that “were too mighty” for David to tackle alone (2 Samuel 22:17-18).
From the time David cried out to God until God’s wrath attacked his enemies was almost instant. For David, this was a clear sign that not only was God listening attentively to David’s prayers, but God was also more than willing to act in his defense. God didn’t wait for months to answer the prayer. God knew David needed help immediately. God came to David’s aid without hesitation. Because of the relationship between David and God, there was no hesitation on God’s part.
When your relationship with God is strong, not only will God listen attentively to your prayers, God will know what you need when you need it. God will act accordingly. God will not hesitate or ignore your prayer. God will act decisively and purposefully. At times, God waits to answer a prayer for a faithful person. Usually, this is due to unforeseen circumstances to which the person is unaware. God may not act right away in order to teach the person patience or so that the perfect circumstances may come about. However, when one of God’s children is in desperate need immediately, according to David’s experience and Gwen’s experience, God acts swiftly and surely.
You may think at times that God isn’t listening to your prayers, because your prayers aren’t being answered in the manner in which you thought would happen. That’s because God can see far down the road. God knows that answering all your prayers immediately does not help you to grow spiritually. It does not teach you patience or perseverance. Answering your prayers the way you would wish may at times be shortsighted or disastrous from God’s eternal perspective. God will answer you in the perfect way and at the perfect time.
In David’s situation, God needed to act immediately and with great power. Quickly, God responded with thunder and lightning and wrath and distress upon the enemies of David. Because David’s enemies were absolutely in the wrong, God was not going to let the evil continue upon His anointed. God answered swiftly, beating back David’s foes. There will be times when God will wisely wait to answer your prayers. However, if you have a great and immediate need, God will come through for you swiftly. You may not see it initially, but the signs will be there. God ALWAYS hears the cries of the faithful. God ALWAYS knows their situation. God ALWAYS wants the best for them. God ALWAYS loves them through.
When you need God, don’t hesitate to call upon Him. As a faithful believer, God will come through. You may not see it at first, but you can believe that God will act swiftly when needed and decisively when appropriate. God may wait to answer a prayer if the circumstances are not yet right. God may hold off on defeating your enemies if you need to face some test or trial. But throughout it all, God will be paying close attention to your situation. God will already have a plan in place the moment you call upon Him.
If you want God to act swiftly to your cries, remember the following things about the scripture for today…
David was close to God. He was called God’s chosen or God’s beloved. Even when David sinned, he made things right with God.
David called upon God when he had a need. He didn’t wait and try to fix it himself first.
David knew that when he called upon God, God would hear his cry. He knew for certain that God was that close.
David looked for God’s signs of action among his enemies. When David prayed, he expected God to answer. He knew God was Almighty. He knew God stands up for the innocent.
David didn’t tell God how to act. He only cried to the Lord. Don’t expect God to answer your prayers in the way you would will it. God will always have a better way to answer your prayer.
When David cried to God, he wasn’t afraid. He knew God would come through somehow.
David was awed and thankful at God’s response, ready to tell others of God’s faithfulness.
David was completely convinced that God would act. He knew God would closely monitor his prayers. It is supremely important that you have a strong and intimate relationship with God. It is crucial that you and God are close. That way, when you most need God, God will be there in a powerful way acting swiftly on your behalf.