21 Leaving that place, Jesus
withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him,
crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My
daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to
him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after
us." 24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." 25 The woman came and knelt before
him. "Lord, help me!" she said. 26
He replied, "It is not right to take the
children's bread and toss it to their dogs." 27
"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that
fall from their masters' table." 28 Then
Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed
from that very hour.
Thought:
Here was a woman who desperately needed help for her daughter, and cried out
for Jesus to do something. How many times have you prayed to God for someone
who was in despair, dealing with life and death issues? And when you prayed, how
did you pray? Did you by chance do what this Canaanite woman did? First, she
yelled at Jesus. Then, she came to him and got down on her knees to make a case
for her daughter. This mother knew without a doubt the only way for her
daughter, who was in desperate need of help, to be healed was through Jesus. When
crying out to Jesus didn’t get her any results, she got down on bended knee to
make her case once again. She had great faith in the ability for Jesus to heal
her daughter. To whom do you turn when you are worried?
I
remember as a young girl, looking forward to reading the advice column by Ann
Landers. She answered all kinds of issues people wrote in about. As a young
girl, I didn’t realize that she couldn’t fix peoples problems or that she
wasn’t the person we should turn to with our problems. I never wrote in to her,
but enjoyed reading the needs of her followers. I think now how silly that was
to think that mine or anyone’s problems could be solved by writing in to an
advice column. I’m sure Ann Landers did help people over her career, but I
wonder how many people’s problems weren’t resolved and could have if they had
just stopped and prayed.
If
we look back through history in the Bible we read that David was very faithful
in prayer. David said, “I yell with all
my might. I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.”
(Psalm
77:1)
The
Bible refers many times to people crying out, speaking audibly with great
emotion concerning an urgent need. God invites us to use this form of prayer to
communicate that we desperately need His mercy. Crying out is a form of
surrendering to him, demonstrating our humility and faith in him. It shows that
we trust in his ability to handle our problems.
“With
all my might I shout up to GOD,
His answers thunder from the holy mountain.” (Psalm 3:4)
As you reflect on your journey with
Jesus, when was the last time you were so serious about a concern you had,
whether for yourself or someone else that you literally got down on your knees
to pray? Have you ever been so concerned about someone or something that you
knew only God could provide an answer for—that you refused to take no for an
answer?
Prayer:
Jesus, forgive me when I don’t find or take the time to talk with you about the
serious concerns in my life. Help me treat you more like my best friend, rather
than just a friend. Help me to have enough passion for people in need to even
yell at you. Amen.
Questions:
1.
What
one thing could you do to improve your prayer and devotional life this year?
2.
What
would it take for you to raise your voice to God in prayer?
