God revealed himself as El Shadday, God Almighty, to Abram and told him of the everlasting covenant he was establishing with him and with his descendants. Until the time of Moses, when another divine name was revealed, the patriarchs considered El Shadday the covenant name of God. When we pray to El Shadday, we invoke the name of the One for whom nothing is impossible.
The Hebrew El Shadday (EL shad-DAI), often translated “God Almighty,” may literally be translated “God, the Mountain One.” Since many of the gods of the ancient Near East were associated with mountains, early translators may have made an educated guess regarding its meaning. Like the mountains themselves, God is seen as strong and unchanging. El Shadday reveals God not only as the one who creates and maintains the universe but as the one who initiates and maintains a covenant with his people. Shadday occurs thirty-one times in the book of Job and seventeen times in the rest of the Bible. In the New Testament, the Greek term Pantokrator is often translated as “Almighty.”
Praying to El Shadday
Do you remember the story of Abraham and Sarah, how God promised to give them children even though Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90? It’s true that people in those days seemed to live longer than they do now but Sarah herself nearly fell down laughing when she heard the outlandish promise. How could she become pregnant at her age? No wonder God revealed himself as “God Almighty” when he made a covenant with Abraham, promising him descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore. To keep a promise that big you need a big, big God.
The story of Ruth and Naomi also features the Almighty overcoming every obstacle in order to show his faithfulness to a widow and her daughter-in-law. Though Naomi begins in near despair, claiming that El Shadday has made her life very bitter, she ends by rejoicing because God has given her a grandchild and therefore a future.
Our need to belong to this big, big God remains. If we believe in Jesus, we have actually become one of Abraham and Sarah’s descendants and we, too, have entered into a covenant with El Shadday, a God who is far more powerful than any of us might imagine. Good thing, too, because he has made so many promises to us, ones like these:
So I tell you to ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. Everyone who asks will receive. The one who searches will find, and for the person who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9)
Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Don’t concern yourself about what you will eat or drink, and quit worrying about these things. Everyone in the world is concerned about these things, but your Father knows you need them. Rather, be concerned about his kingdom. Then these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid, little flock. Your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:29-32)
If your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)
Who but God Almighty could ever deliver on such promises? The stock market can’t, the government can’t, our spouses can’t. Only El Shadday, the God of unimaginable might, is able to keep his promises regardless of circumstances.
