21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22A 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."
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."
- P104
25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.
- P105
26He replied, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs."
27"Yes it is, Lord," she said. "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table."
28Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.
- P105
A Canaanite woman approaches Jesus and asks Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter. The woman is persistent, and the disciples urge Jesus to send her away. They see this non-Jewish woman as an outsider and a nuisance that is interrupting their day. Jesus uses this experience as an example to expand the disciples’ understanding of who is worthy of His attention. We should never impose limitations on who we think is worthy of God’s help or who deserves to have their prayers answered. - P106
The truth is, none of us is worthy of God’s help or deserving of His grace. God extends His free gift of salvation to all who recognize their need and come to Him. - P106
Jesus‘ answers to the woman‘s repeated pleas seem harsh. This does not deterher, however, and she continues to look up to Him for help. His seemingly *cold answers draw out her faith and Jesus responds to it by healing herdaughter. - P106
Jesus uses the woman‘s persistence to teach the disciples whatthey failed to understand: God‘s mercy extends to all who come to Himin faith. Jesus has a masterful way of humbling the proud who think theyare special and elevating those who are overlooked by society and comHim forWhenmercy. we see others through the eyes of Jesus, we begin tounderstand the depth of God‘s love for all people.
- P106
"God is not looking for polite pray-ers-he is looking for persistent, prevailingpray-ers."-Jon Bloom - P106
Jesus was a master teacher. He often used the power of parables to conveycomplex truths in a practical way that even children could understand.
Other times, like with the Canaanite woman who came to Him for help,
He turns a real-life situation into an opportunity for His disciples (and us!)to learn a lesson they would never forget. When Jesus draws out the answerHe is looking for from the woman, the disciples have their "aha" moment.
They see that someone who was neither an Israelite nor a man, and whowas marginalized from society by her daughter‘s condition, was not beyondredemption. The woman exercised faith and Jesus commended her for it;something none of the disciples would have expected. - P107
God, You humble the proud but give grace to the humble. You ask me to be persistent in prayer. Provide me with the strength to do so. - P107
When I feel like giving up, remind me of Your grace that is ready to meet me. In Jesus’ name, amen. - P107
It Started at Church!
Young Mother Is Grateful for Compassion‘s Survival Intervention. - P12
"From my first time attending Promised Land Baptist Church,
I decided to go to church regularly. I started to feel there was apurpose in life and that my being a motherwas not an accident." - Rhenzel - P13
He is not honored by lip servicebut by heartfelt obedience. It is easy to say we love God, just as the religiousleaders that opposed Jesus did. It is another thing entirely to obey God byserving Him, and serving Him is often done by serving others. - P61
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