For Such A Reply

For Such a Reply

Read: Mark 7:24-30

“For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

Mark 7:29

“Let not our prayers die while our Intercessor lives.”

—Anonymous

IN WORD Jesus has just told a woman exactly what she didn’t want to hear. She came to Him in desperate need, falling at His feet, crying out on behalf of her demon-possessed daughter. Jesus’ response seems callous and brutal: “You’re a dog, a Gentile, a foreigner with no claim to the Jewish Messiah.” Was this tongue-in-cheek? An inside joke? Was there a twinkle in His eye that softened the cruelty of its content? We don’t know. What we do know is that she persisted, and Jesus responded positively. Her persistence was no affront. It honored Him.

Often God’s initial answer to us after a prayer is not His final word; it is a test. It is given to see how we will respond. Is it a response of faith and trust? Or a response of complaint? The nature of the reply may determine the result we see. We will either honor Him with a confident declaration of His merciful nature that gives to “dogs” like us; or we will dishonor Him with resentment and resignation. In either case, He may or may not give us the answer we expected or hoped for. But when we respond in faith, He will answer, one way or another. It is inconceivable that He would ignore those who fall at His feet and pray to Him in faith and on His terms.

IN DEED We have many responses to unanswered prayer. We may try to assert our “rights” and demand God’s intervention on our terms. We may grow critical, forgetful of His unwavering love for us. Or we may just get discouraged and resign ourselves to His apparent lack of concern.

How do you respond when Jesus answers “not a word”? Do you turn away in bitterness? That’s certainly not what He wanted. His desire is to see us profess our knowledge of who He is, even when the superficial evidence we see seems to contradict His true nature. He welcomes persistence, He expects faith, and He sympathizes with those who know their desperate need.