Matthew 15:21-28 Intercession

Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed." But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us." But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."  But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."  But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed at once. [Matthew 15:21‭-‬28 NASB]

This is the only occasion that we are told Jesus left Israel as an adult. He traveled north into Lebanon. We are not told why He went there, but I believe it was specifically to meet this woman.

Jesus' behavior in this instance is not consistent with what we normally see of Him. In other cases, whenever anyone asked His help, He was quick to respond. The mere fact of her being a gentile should not be an issue, since Jesus had already healed the servant of a Roman centurion. Also, Jesus approached the Samaritan woman at the well, and initiated a conversation with her.

When the Canaanite woman approached Jesus and asked Him to heal her daughter, He remained silent. In fact, He seems almost cruel in His treatment of her. But one thing we know about Jesus is that He is not cruel. Nor does act (nor fail to act) without reason.

It seems that by withholding an answer, Jesus tested her faith. And in that testing, her faith was strengthened. In the end, He said to her, "O woman, your faith is great."

We can learn valuable principles for intercessory prayer from the example of this woman's pleas.

1. Be persistent. His seeming indifference didn't discourage her. The disciples said, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us." When you pray, you may not receive an answer right away, either yea or nay. Don't be discouraged, but keep on praying.
2. Answers to prayer are not based on your relationship to God, but on God's will and goodness. Jesus told her, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." While Jesus taught that the gospel would be preached in all the nations, He limited Himself to Israel. As a non-Jew, she was not in the right relationship with Jesus. She did not let this stop her from coming to Him.
3. Worship before you receive an answer. She came and began to bow down before Him. This was an act of worship.
4. Identify with the object of your intercession. The woman bowed down before Jesus and said, "Lord, help me!" She was interceding for her daughter who was demon-possessed, then having made the need known, she prayed, "Help me!"
5. She was humble before the Lord. Most of us, if we were called a dog, would storm off in a huff saying "Who does He think He is?" Instead, she accepted her lowly state, and asked for crumbs. She didn't elevate herself in any way, nor try to make the case that either she or her daughter deserved mercy. She merely asked for grace.

We are told, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." [Jeremiah 29:13 NASB] Don't be discouraged when it seems that your prayers are not being answered. Allow your faith to be tested. If you persevere, your faith will grow strong through the testing.