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Matthew 15:21-28
“Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed (v.28).
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• Matthew 7:7-11
• Luke 18:1-8
• 1 Thessalonians 5:17
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How have you demonstrated your faith through chutzpah in prayer lately? What prayers have you seen answered as you’ve persisted in calling on God?
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When I was growing up, my father kept one can of WD-40 in the house and another in his car. It seemed it was the be-all and end-all for almost every mechanical problem. But what is WD-40? It literally stands for Water Displacement 40th attempt.
In 1953, chemist Norm Larsen was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion—a task which is accomplished by displacing water. Larsen’s unyielding tenacity and persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.
Matthew introduces us to a Gentile woman who had this same kind of persistence. Her daughter was violently and cruelly demon-possessed (15:21). She had no hope of ever seeing her daughter normal again, until she heard that Jesus was in town. She had heard about Jesus’ power and the miracles He had worked in the lives of others, and she believed He could help her too. So she approached Jesus boldly and persevered with unyielding tenacity, even when everything and everybody seemed to be against her. Her race, religious background, gender, the disciples, Satan, and even Jesus seemed to be against her (v.24).
Despite these seeming obstacles, she did not give up, but pushed her way through the dark corridors of her desperate need. She had chutzpah (khoot-spuh), a Jewish/Hebrew word for headstrong persistence, unyielding tenacity, bold determination, and raw nerve. Jesus complimented her chutzpah and rewarded her faith by healing her daughter (v.28).
Sometimes we pray, and if we don’t get an answer the first time, we give up. That’s not chutzpah! Chutzpah is having the raw belief, the deep trust, and the confident hope to be persistent with God, believing that He is good, just, and loving, and that He desires what’s best for us.
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Lately I have been going through times when I have felt distant from God and during that time I have done things I shouldn’t. This, therefore, lays bare the fact that when far away from the protective hands of Him the devil easily has access to one. When all I felt the things I desired should have been granted and weren’t, I took things into my own hands…… and got no where. I grew weary, I gave up, I lost hope. But here we are being told not to give up but persist in doing good and praying always because God listens and He grants that which we desire. The idea is to keep focused on the throne of God from where all things come. Never stop praying, Paul says (1 Thess. 5:17). Sometimes we give up when the Lord’s hand is just about to reach us to grant our hearts’ desires. Disappointed, He takes back the bagful of gifts meaning you will have to work twice as before to get them. Lord help me grow, and keep, my faith in thee.
Thanks for the great response. Your prayer is my prayer as well. I need to keep growing in this area as well. God answers in his time, and ultimately we should view prayer as a medium of getting to know God better. Hang in there and keep praying.
Amen Chileshe! We also have to remember that as we pray, God answers in his time. It may not be when we want it, but it’s always right on time…this can be frustrating when we are not operating in faith. Been there done that (and sometimes still doing it). We will pray for each other.
Riri, thanks for your words of encouragement. They are timely and words of life. Let’s keep talking to our heavenly Father. Have a great day.
Riri / Chileshe,
Is there a Christian alive who doesn’t struggle like this ? I don’t think so.
I read yesterday that there are 2 different pains we can face – the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Now, either way you look at it, there’s going to be pain involved – saying no to something, feeling disappointed, trying to look past the temporal to see what is etrenal. It’s tough.
But the woman in todays devotional is a great example of refusing to give up even when you FEEL like you’ve had enough.
I always take encouragement from the example of Abraham as he climbed the mountain with Issac – can you imagine what he must have felt like – but he kept climbing – and wasn’t he blessed at the top!
May God help us to dig deep and keep climbing – He is Faithful.
F.O.C.U.S., what a great word of encouragement. We must keep climbing in prayer each day and with every situation we face. We must keep believing that our heavenly Father knows what’s best for us. Again, thanks for your words of encouragement.
Ps I never knew what WD40 stood for until today – I wonder will this make met any better at Destroy It Yourself around the house ???
That’s funny!
Nor did I, but as with every aspect in life, you need a bit of ‘focus’ and persistence in your DIY projects and eventually you will DIY…….whatever way you want to interpret DIY!!
Marvin, your excellent devotional has sparked some sensational comments today.
Norm Larsen exhibits pesistence in his development of WD40.
Matthew tells of a Gentile woman who shows the same persistence that leads ultimately to her heart’s desire, the miraculous recovery of her daughter.
So often, we who profess our faith in Jesus let ourselves down by giving up and showing no persistence in our pursuit of our desires through prayer. Over and again we see even non-believers demonstrating the perseverance that not only leads them to their desired reward, but also brings with it the satisfaction of His greatest longing: for sinners to come to know their Lord and Saviour!
Chileshe underlines that when we drift away from the safe haven of God’s love, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the Devil, who never misses an opportunity to wreak havock in our lives. The solution is not to give up, to persist in prayer.
riri reminds us that God always answers our prayers, but in His way (not ours) and in His perfect timing. Have patience. Have faith.
F.O.C.U.S. your words of wisdom hit home as usual – dig deep, keep climbing, your reward will be achieved with a bit of chutzpah.
Thank you and God bless you one and all.
Reading all these comments have given me the encouragement that I so much need at this time. I have been praying about a particular situation for a while now wondering when will my prayers be answered. Your commentaries have motivated me to keep praying and in due time(God’s time) I will receive an answer. Thank you all!
All this past week I have been on my knees desperately praying for a healing miracle in my sister, who was on life support and in a coma due to bacterial mennigistis. I enlisted many prayer warriors in also praying with me, and the Lord answered!!! She came out of the coma, off life support and is getting stronger each day!!Amen I constantly told my niece and nephew, that the Lord does anwer prayer, sometimes to show his almighty strength so that unbelievers will fall to their knees and look up. I know a seed was planted to many souls that the Lord wanted to reach to and however the Lord chooses use me or anyone I can tell you I am in awe of his Love and Mercy!!
Thank you father for your many promises, especially Isaiah 41:10
Amen! Ioananna this real life story will not only inspire non-believers, every believer will rejoice with you and praise our almighty God.
Thank you for sharing this triumphant tale of hope and love with us today.
God bless you, your sister and all your family.
Amen and amen and amen.
First of all I have to say, Praise God for the miracle in loananna’s life. God does always answer our prayers, sometimes they aren’t the answer that we want or thought that we needed and sometimes they are but He answers none the less. I have learned this year about things happening in God’s time and what a blessing. I too struggled with praying and not getting the answer that I wanted, when I wanted it. Then I found out that it is all in God’s time, and like a child needs to learn it isn’t all about what I want but rather that my heavenly Father knows what is best for me,I also have learned not to give up because God doesn’t give up on us. He is faithful to the end, and He is always on time.
I am beginning to understand that my time in prayer is much more about building my relationship with God and not nearly so much about Him answering any particular requests I may make. I believe God desires us to have a very deep personal relationship with Him and He is pleased when we regularly and persistently seek Him in prayer.
Excellent point, well made. We should all do well to take this on board.
God bless you.
Ted,
Thank you for your encouragement. I suspect I ‘get’ more from your words than you do from mine!!
loananna,
I’m so pleased for you, that’s wonderful news. Having previously worked in intensive care, I know it must have been very stressful for you all. Isn’t it great that whatever happens we have the truth of Psalm 61v3.
Stupart,
I’m glad your encouraged to keep praying my friend. God bless you.
Thanks for all the other comments too – every one an encouragement.
Thank you for this post. It was very timely and encouraging. I referenced and linked to this on my latest blog post.
Alleluia loananna! God is still in the healing business! I am very happy for you and your family.