Why We Should Persevere in Prayer

Scripture for today. An example to pray and not lose heart!

• “Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 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.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.”‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭15:21-28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I love this story in Scripture! So thought I’d share a few thoughts.

Tyre and Sidon, are two port cities on the Mediterranean Sea. They were, more than likely, Gentiles, a pagan nation, whose people would have had many “gods”. Yet Jesus withdrew to the region of these two cities. Kind of like how He “had to go” through Samaria. Like the Woman at the Well, I think He knew God had something special in mind for Him that day. Not that the people of this area never heard of Jesus, Mark 3:8 says, “When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.”‭‭ So this Canaanite woman would have been no different. Surely she too would have heard the stories about Jesus. Perhaps like Rahab, she believed that the God of the Hebrews was the true God. For who else could perform the signs and miracles Jesus did if God wasn’t with Him? So she came to Him. What I love most about this story, is her persistence! She doesn’t give up, even when Jesus said to her,  “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Or, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” She was desperate for help for her daughter, help she knew only Jesus could give. She did not let His comment throw her off. She did not take offense, she didn’t walk away, no, instead she stood her ground! Don’t you just love her response! “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” And she was rewarded for her faith! Her daughter was healed! It just says so much to me about the need to persevere. To not give up or throw in the towel when things get hard or when life just isn’t going the way you wish it would. To keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking(see Matthew 7:7-8). May I or we, learn to follow her example of faith! To believe; to know that Jesus can; that all things are possible with God! And to claim the truth that Jesus taught His disciples, that we/I should always pray and not lose heart! (See Luke 18:1).