There is a God that answers prayers and His name is Jehovah El Shaddai. There is no prayer request that is too big, complex or complicated for Jehovah El Shaddai to handle. Neither is there any request that is too small, trivial, mundane or inconsequential for God not to give His attention to. God is just a prayer away and He is willing, ready and available to listen to us and answer us when we pray. The question is: are you willing, ready and available to pray?

In Genesis 24:1-15, Abraham’s servant discovered when he prayed to God that God is a living God who is so near to us when we pray. God was too real to Abraham’s servant.  Abraham’s servant discovered that in a twinkling of an eye, God can get to you when you have a need, when you need His help. He discovered that God is just a prayer away. Deuteronomy 4:7 says what other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to Him. There are many gods but there is only One Living God who is near to His people when they pray to Him. One of the things that make believers great, that distinguishes believers from followers of all other religions is that we have a God that is near us when we pray. Our God is just a prayer away.

Psalm 8:1 says O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. God’s names are excellent; His names are superior to all other names on earth. There are thousands of gods with different kinds of names but God’s names are superior to the names of all other gods. His names are powerful; His names reveal His nature and attributes. His names attest to the fact that He is alive, He is a Living God. He is just a prayer away. His name Jehovah El Shaddai reveals Him as the God that is ALMIGHTY, the All Sufficient, All Powerful God who possesses all power and is mighty to protect from all manner of danger and evil, mighty to satisfy and supply all our needs. He is the God who fulfills His Word, covenant and promises (Genesis 17:1, Psalm 91:1). He is our All in All; the One who is sufficient for everything and every need (Colossians 3:11).

Everyone has requests, everyone has needs but it is who you take your request to that makes all the difference. Some take their request to all kinds of places and people who don’t have the power to save or help them. In 1 Kings 18:25-29, the prophets of Baal called upon their god from morning till evening. They shouted out to their god, they danced around the altar of their god, at a point they even slashed themselves with swords and spears until blood was coming out of their bodies, but there was no response. Their god didn’t answer them, their god didn’t pay any attention to them, their god seriously disappointed them. Why? Because there is only One true and Living God and He is Jehovah El Shaddai. He is the God that is near us when we pray; He is a God that hears us when we call. He is the God who is just a prayer away. He is the only God that doesn’t disappoint those who put their trust in Him.

The prophets of baal cut themselves, injured themselves, blood was coming out of their bodies, they were going through so much pain right before their god, but their god wasn’t moved, their god wasn’t touched. But thank God we have a Living God, Jehovah El Shaddai who is touched by our infirmities, who understands what we are going through (Hebrews 4:15) and so sends us help when we are in need, when we are going through tough and painful times (Psalm 46:1). He is a Living God who makes our burdens His own burden. He would rather be the one carrying that burden than see us weighed down by any kind of burden. No wonder He tells is to “cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee, he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

The prophets of Baal called on their god from morning till evening but there was no response.  Abraham’s servant called on Jehovah El Shaddai and before he had even finished praying (Genesis 24:15), while he was yet speaking (Isaiah 65:24), God answered him.

Like it happened to the servant of Abraham, as you pray to Jehovah El Shaddai, He will manifest Himself in your life as a Living God. You will not pray and be disappointed. You will not pray and be wondering where is God, can He see me, can He hear me, can He even handle this issue? You will discover that God is just a prayer away. As God sent an angel to Daniel while he was yet speaking, while he was still praying (Daniel 9:20-21), this year, God will send an angel with the answer to your prayer. He will send an angel with your blessing and package while you are yet speaking, while you are still praying.

It is only a Living God that can answer you while you are yet speaking. Even before we bring our requests to God, He already knows what we need. Matthew 6:8 tells us that our Father in heaven knows what we need before we even ask Him for it.

God never runs helter-skelter all over the place trying to meet a need, nor is He confused when a request is brought to Him because being El Shaddai, the All Sufficient God, He knows what we need before we even ask and has already made provision for that need ahead of time. He has kept the answer aside for us. So when we pray, it is very easy for Him to answer us while we are yet speaking because the answer is already with Him even before we have voiced out our request.

It wasn’t when Abraham’s servant prayed that God started thinking of a wife for Isaac. It had already been on God’s mind to bless Isaac with a wife. God had already prepared someone as a suitable wife for Isaac, so as soon as Abraham’s servant made the request, God released the wife He had been preparing for Isaac.

As you devote yourself to  prayer, all those answers, all those testimonies God has purposed in His heart to give you, all those blessings that have been prepared and stored up for you in heaven, Jehovah El Shaddai will release them to you in Jesus mighty name, AMEN!

www.teshnwritings.com

Tesh Njokanma is a lawyer by training whose heart is in writing. She is a prolific writer with over 15 years experience as a Magazine Editor. She is a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God with a prayer and teaching ministry. Tesh is married with children. She is based in Lagos, Nigeria