It's the kind of answer everyone wants when they pray—a God stirred to action on their behalf. Psalm 18 describes a God of action. It's a record of David's song when God delivered him from the hands of Saul:

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. . . . The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them. . . . He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. . . . He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:6-17)

Isn't that the kind of response you want when you cry out to God? We want a God who rises up decisively and passionately to come to our aid—who will even shake the earth and part the heavens if He needs to. And I think that's often what we get without even realizing it. What we need to remember is that David's flight and eventual rescue from Saul took many long years. From a heavenly point of view, God rose up decisively and defended David. From an earthly point of view . . . well, many times it seemed that David had been left high and dry. The verdict on his prayer wasn't visible for a very long time.

Take heart from that and trust that your prayers are being answered. God rises up on your behalf. You may not see that yet, but that doesn't make it any less true. David prayed, and years later he was delivered. And in his song, he testified of the God who shook the earth and flew from the heavens in order to answer.