Matthew 15:21–28
Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite woman in our reflection passage is such a beautiful example of the faith we ought to have. Traditionally, she was in no position to be asking Jesus to grant her anything. The Canaanites were descendants of Ham, Noah’s son who saw his father naked. Noah declared a curse on Canaan saying “the lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers” (Genesis 9:22–25). The descendants of Ham were among the people at war with the Israelites (descendants of Shem). Thus in Matthew 15:24, when Jesus says that He was there only for the lost sheep of Israel, this woman was not only excluded from that group but she was from a cursed people, people below the “lost sheep of Israel”.
Yet there she was.
She could have kept her chin up and said “this man probably doesn’t associate Himself with the lowest like me” but I’d like to assume that she knew the character of God. That if this is the Son of God, the One who is to come, surely He is compassionate, kind hearted and gracious.
What makes this story so profound is how this woman does not act as if she is deserving of Jesus’ favor. The more this woman humbled herself before the Lord, the more the Lord opened up to her. Instead of taking offense and growing arrogant and entitled, she begged. She got on her knees in reverence of Jesus’ sovereignty and appealed to Him further even when it seemed like Jesus was not going to grant her request.
Get Believe and Beyond’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Prayer is a beautiful thing. It’s like a device God has given us to contact Him whenever, wherever. The first thing the Lord teaches us through the Canaanite is that we ought to be humble. We need to remember that whatever God grants us is not because of our good deeds but because of His grace. If you start to think “I deserve this” then you will grow entitled and the ‘longer’ you take to see your prayer manifesting, the more your perception of God’s character becomes warped because now you will think God is unfair.
Begin in humility.
In many African traditions, we kneel down before elders so we know that I am not above you, nor am I at the same level as you but I am below me and you are above me. And that is the same attitude we should have before God, literally and physically. Kneel at the feet of Jesus who made Himself the lowest and suffered a sinner’s death for you and I, thus being exalted.
While being humble, persist. First Jesus did not respond to this woman, then He reminded her of how unworthy she was for His blessing. At this point one might give up and think “okay this is not working”. But this is a test of your faith. Sometimes we think God is quiet or that we aren’t important enough but the latter raises the same issue again. We are looking at ourselves and not the character of God. This is why it is important to know who God is. Persist remembering that God is kind and gentle. Persist knowing that God is merciful with grace that overflows. Persist knowing that the God you are talking to is El Roi (the God who sees) and is omnipresent and compassionate.
The final piece to prayer that seals the deal is faith. It goes without saying that the Canaanite woman believed Jesus could grant her request. Her simply calling on Him was an act of faith. Her persisting, knowing she was the lowest was an act of faith. She had faith that Jesus can and will grant her request. Throughout the Book of Matthew alone, most of the people written about are people who had faith in one way or another. The granting of their needs were a two-way street. Jesus can heal and perform miracles but do you believe He can? In Matthew 8, the man with leprosy stated that if Jesus was willing, He could heal the man and He did it instantly. The centurion in the same chapter made a similar statement saying “just say the word, and my servant will be healed”. In the chapter right before the reflection passage, Simon — Peter literally walked on water believing if it truly was Jesus on the water, then he too would be able to walk on water — and when he lost faith, he began to drown.
You have to call on the name of Jesus in faith. You shouldn’t need to see it to believe it because “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Your faith needs to be steadfast. You could be like the centurion or the leper and have your request granted immediately. Or it could take some time. How much more can you believe when you are not seeing anything happen, when things even seem to be moving in the opposite direction, when you are kicking a dead dog. Again, you should not have to see it to believe it.
Don’t take the blessing of prayer for granted. In the past people needed to go through someone else to talk to God. Now we can talk to God ourselves through Jesus Christ. Not just in a church building, not just when surrounded by other believers.
This blessing is what keeps us connected to God, what gives us peace beyond any and all comprehension (Philippians 4:6–7) even when we are walking through fire.
