March 18, 2025
Woof - Part 2
Matthew 15:21-23a
03/18/2025
21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the
district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region
came out and was crying, ``Have mercy on me, O
Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely
oppressed by a demon.''
23 But he did not answer her a word.
Jesus had been teaching around Jerusalem and Judea, much to
the dismay of the scribes and Pharisees. They had grown a bit
argumentative, making it difficult for Jesus to teach His
disciples. Matthew recorded:
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the
district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite
woman from that region came out and was crying, ``Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is
severely oppressed by a demon.'' But he did not answer
her a word.
There are times that we pray and it seems that God is simply
not listening. Did Jesus hear the Canaanite woman? Why did He
remain silent?
We believe, teach, and confess that God hears each of our
prayers. He answers each one, many times not in the way we
desire, but in the way that is most appropriate. Sometimes, to
strengthen our faith or to give an example of faith to others,
that answer might be delayed.
Because we do not know the unintended consequences of our
prayers, we ask God for temporal blessings only according to His
will. His answer of ``yes'' may, in fact, be inappropriate,
causing more harm than good. We don't know, so we make our
request in faith.
May our Lord grant us faith to trust in Him, to hold firmly
to His promise of forgiveness and everlasting life, even when He
seems to be silent. Amen.