Aggressive prayer (Part 3)
Verse of the day: Matthew 15: 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"
Today we will clearly see the difference between asking and seeking. When we ask, sometimes the answer is neither yes nor no but we face a silence. In such case, the one who just ask will be discouraged and give up but he who perseveres will even find the necessary arguments to be heard.
If you read the whole passage (Matt 15: 21-28), you will realize that the woman was not entitled to a miracle (during that time) because she was Canaanite. Although her identity disqualified her, she did not give in because she was convinced that the solution to her problem was in Jesus alone. In addition to her race that disqualified her, she was also blocked by the disciples of Jesus who said emphatically: "Send her away, for she keeps after us". Despite the silence of Jesus, she followed them shouting behind them ... she obviously cried out by addressing herself to Jesus. It is interesting to see that Jesus heard her but did not answer a word. She cried out so loud that it bothered everyone, which is why the disciples asked Jesus to send her away.
After noticing that Jesus did not care about her, she decided to block his path and worshiped him (Matt 15: 25) and as Jesus had no choice, he finally spoke to her but he said: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs “(Matt 15: 26). The children are the Israelites and small dogs are foreigners, a way of saying that she asks for a favor she does not deserve but as she was determined and above all she had seen the solution in Jesus, she insisted saying, “Yes it is, Lord, she said. Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table “(Matt 15: 27). In other words, she did not deny the idea of ??Jesus but she informed him that although she is not entitled to bread, she can be content with the crumbs, a way to show that there was no way she could return home empty-handed. Through perseverance, Jesus finally said, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment "(Matt 15: 28).
God loves great faith and great faith is manifested through persistence. Unfortunately, the majority of Christians are passive but sometimes it takes us some aggressiveness in our prayers.
To be continued in the fourth part
Chris Ndikumana
