Importunity In Prayer

IMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER.

Matthew 15:21-28.

Sometimes in the round of life it seems that we are praying by rote - and sometimes not praying at all, but rather ‘saying prayers’.

I was impressed with the importunity of the woman of Canaan who approached Jesus in Matthew 15:21-28.

Yes folks, faith was found in a Canaanite woman from the region of the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

Why am I surprised at this? Rahab was also a Canaanite, an ancestress of the royal house of David (Matthew 1:5-6). Rahab’s faith is celebrated in both the Old Testament and the New (Joshua 6:25; Hebrews 11:31).

Going back to the woman who came to Jesus in today’s reading: she was willing to be discouraged, insulted and all but turned away, holding out in her negotiations for her daughter until she got a result.

Now there’s prayer for you: engaging with God, wrestling with His angel and refusing to let Him go until He grants the blessing (Genesis 32:24-29).

There is hope for us, even as there was hope for this woman from the margins of life. There is hope for our children as there was for hers.

Persevere in prayer folks, and who knows what blessings He yet has for those whom we uphold before Him day by day.