"The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness.
The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word."Joel 2:10-11
If you desire more insight about effective prayer, I will recommend the book of Nehemiah 2:1-8; but because of time and space, we will paraphrase the verses a little. The book of Nehemiah chapter 2 provides us with a clear example of what it means to pray to God, the King of kings and what it means to pray to a king on earth. However, it helps us to know what kings do when men pray (ask for help, seek solution, desire favour) to them.
Nehemiah needed God's help first, and so, he prayed first to God. The moment he got an answer from God, he went to his king. The answer of the king to Nehemiah's request is actually a clear pointer to what kings do when they are prayed to; and invariably, what God will do whenever He answers any man or woman's prayer on e earth.
According to the book of Nehemiah chapter 2 verses 6-8; the king did nothing after he answered Nehemiah's request (prayer) apart from SPEAKING. So, we must examine what the king said, for that will help us to know the nature of kings' words, which is stronger than the valours of the most powerful man.
The king in that portion of the Bible spoke APPROVAL and PROVISION to Nehemiah. When kings speak, they either approve or disapprove and provide when approved. In the same vein, when God answers a man's prayer, He either speaks APPROVAL or DISAPPROVAL and when He speaks APPROVAL, He moves ahead to speak PROVISION. Do you know that the kings own everything within their domain of authority and power? Do you know that kings are equally called Lords because they OWN everything in their Kingdoms? Our God is the King of kings, and the LORD of lords; hence, He OWNS everything in this world.
If you observe that book of Nehemiah 2 very closely, you would see how the king gave Nehemiah the approval for access to the enormous (but limited) resources of the king. Our God OWNS everything, both visible and invisible, even thrones, He owns them all. Therefore, His resources are limitless, and so, everyone that receives a word of approval from Him, must equally receive a word of provision; once those words have been released by God; any man can take the words to the bank – they will never return back to Him void until they fulfill the purpose for which they were sent by God.
When God answers any man or woman's prayer; He does not begin to move here and there in confusion or disarray on how to do anything; instead, His word moves swiftly to execute His will. Let me now say that the best thing that can ever happen to a man is not shaking of rocks or storm or earthquaking or burning of fire after a man prays to God; but a WORD from the LORD. When God speaks, the entire universe moves swiftly to the direction and alignment of the word of God over any matter.
O Lord, all I need from you daily for the rest of my life is a word in a season. A word from you Lord….It will surely sail me through life in elegance of excellence and glory of the Lord…the Possessor of heaven and earth!
We must not forget that God is not limited to APPROVAL/DISAPPROVAL and PROVISION; He also does quite many other things through His word – He gives DIRECTION! When a man receives God's APPROVAL, God PROVIDES for such man and He DIRECTS him towards effective execution of His willon the earth.
