Beautifully Surrendered: God's Heart for His DaughtersSample

Read: Matthew 15:21–28

SOAP: Matthew 15:28

Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Into the text

When our loved ones are hurting, sick, or in need of a miracle, our prayers for them are often more passionate and determined than prayers for ourselves. In our compassion and love, we call on the name of Jesus to heal, restore, and comfort until our words run out and all we can do is whisper, “Please, Jesus.”

It’s not hard to put ourselves in the Canaanite woman’s shoes. We don’t need to face the same circumstances to know what it feels like to be desperate for God to answer our prayers. Our prayers become relentless when it feels like hope is lost and none of the world’s solutions will solve the problem.

The narrative in today’s Scripture is confusing to understand at first, especially compared to some of the other passages we’ve read when Jesus goes out of His way to show compassion. The disciples wanted to ignore the woman completely. Jesus even initially told her He was sent only to the Jews. Yet she continued to beg, bowing down before Jesus, knowing He could help her, even if He gave her only the smallest grace.

The woman understood Jesus’ answer, His comments about being sent only to those from the house of Israel. However, her faith was so great that she knew even the leftovers of Jesus’ power would be enough to heal her daughter. While many Jews had been told of the coming Messiah, they ignored the signs and refused to believe Jesus was the Christ, the Savior of the world. But this woman, a Gentile, recognized Jesus for who He is. It was because of the woman’s great faith that Jesus healed her daughter.

Maybe you resonate deeply with the mother in this story, desperate for answered prayers for your child or someone you love. Maybe her relentless pursuit of Jesus is how you see yourself, fighting to draw near to Him when the world’s worries try to pull you away. Maybe you’re encouraged that Jesus saw her, listened to her, and acknowledged her faith instead of writing her off because of her background. Jesus loves to see our faith, and He is willing and able to help. It is often our deep cries of faith when we are so desperate we can trust in nothing but Him that He answers us most miraculously.