God Responds to Our Prayers
On the way home from church last week, I felt like the Lord wanted me to share the picture He gave me (a few years ago) about Psalm 18. As you read it, picture it as your prayer to God in a time of great need as well as God's instant response to you. Of course, David was singing it as a song of praise after the fact of God's deliverance of him from his enemies, specifically when King Saul, who was near and dear to David's heart, became David's enemy.
In the first few verses David proclaims how God is his strength, rock, fortress, and deliverer who came through for him. Then in verses four to six he describes how distressed he was, even to the point of feeling like death was lurking nearby, feeling afraid of those who he once was in relationship with. So, in verse six he calls out to God for help
Verses 7-19 show God's response to that prayer for help. The Lord Almighty leaps off His throne, which causes the effect of the earth trembling from His sudden movement. Smoke came out of His nostrils and fire from the words coming out of His mouth to destroy the works of the enemy while God Himself rides upon a cherub to fly to David's rescue. The Lord's voice thunders as He sends arrows (accurate words to undo what the enemy means to do) and scatters the plans of wickedness. They are words of rebuke. Then, (I love this part) in verse 16 and 17 the Lord lovingly picks David up and gently sets him in a place of safety away from his strong enemy who has spewed hatred towards him. And verse eighteen describes how the Lord lovingly prevents the enemy’s intended calamity simply because He delights in David.
In the rest of this chapter, you see how David's faith and trust in God grew. He now knows He can run through a troop and leap over walls because of His trust in the Lord's power to deliver from falsehoods, afflictions, and arrogantly unjust dealings from others. The Lord's ultimate "good" through the tribulations of our lives is not just to prove Himself strong on our behalf, but for us to grow in our faithful trust towards Him so that we become undaunted participants in His strategy to overcome those who come against us. They are being used by the enemy for harm, but the Lord knows how to deal with every situation. Indeed, the Lord rushes in with His powerful authority in response to our humble prayer of "help!"
Hope this ministers to you whenever you are facing situations too strong for you. God is listening to your cry for help so He can rush in to prove Himself strong on your behalf. You can trust Him always.