2 Samuel 22:8–16

“Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.
He rode upon a cherub, and flew;
And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness canopies around Him,
Dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him
Coals of fire were kindled.

“The LORD thundered from heaven,
And the Most High uttered His voice.
He sent out arrows and scattered them;
Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
The foundations of the world were uncovered,
At the rebuke of the LORD,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.”

God’s response to David’s prayers was, to put it mildly, attention getting. Why?

To get his attention.

This isn’t about granting wishes; it’s about His glory. God’s plan to bring David around to true faith didn’t include soft-pedaling the message.

David didn’t ask for all the fireworks, but they help get the point across.

God has a style that takes some getting used to. He obviously likes action. The plot twists of life are often more “twisty” than we’d like. It’s as if He’s easily bored.

But there’s a flip side to this that seems, at first glance, contradictory—answers to prayer often come slowly. If we took one of those silly online surveys about our answered prayers, God would get a lower satisfaction score on “Prompt Service.” How is this compatible with His apparent love of action?

Both are designed to teach. The goal isn’t entertainment, it’s personal growth—David’s and ours.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include questions for discussion or meditation, are here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.