Speaker: Bro Froilan Hong ,Administration and Pastoral Director, The Lord's Flock Charismatic Community

“ The Miracle of Importunity ”

W ord of God : “Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon . And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, ‘Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.' But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.' He said in reply, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .' But the woman came and did him homage, saying, ‘Lord, help me.' He said in reply, ‘It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.' She said, ‘Please, Lord for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.' Then Jesus said to her in reply, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.' And her daughter was healed from that hour.” (Matthew 15:21-28).

The Canaanite Woman's Faith

T he healing of the daughter of the Canaanites woman is a miracle of importunity. The account is found in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 15, verses 21-28 and in the Gospel of Mark, 7:24 -30.

T he healing is considered a miracle of importunity, a miracle due to importunity: insistence, earnestment, urgency, and persistent solicitation. The Canaanite woman was insistent, earnest and persistent.

J esus encountered the Canaanite woman in the region of Tyre and Sidon, ( Southern Lebanon ) two cities cursed during the time of the prophet Ezekiel. Jesus came to this place with his disciples – after performing many miracles [feeding of the five thousand, Matthew 14:13-21; walking on the water, Matthew 14:33, and the healings at Gennesaret. (Matthew 14:34-36).

C anaanite women were being avoided by Jews. [ “Isaac therefore called Jacob, greeted him with a blessing, and charged him; ‘You shall not marry a Canaanite woman !” (Genesis 28:1.) They were like Samaritans whom the Jews were also avoiding.

J esus did not hesitate to be in the region – He and his disciples were looking for the lost sheep of the house of Israel . (Matthew 10:6). When the Canaanite woman came and called out “Have pity on me, Lord Son of David!” Jesus replied that “He was sent only to the house of Israel .” The woman's faith, importunity, and insistence surprised him and He healed her daughter.

Ingredients of the Miracle of Importunity

T he miracle of importunity has six ingredients:

1. A Conceding Faith

T he Canaanite woman showed her faith by calling Jesus “Lord”. She declared her acceptance and admission that she is under the rule and sovereignty of Jesus. Her call for pity is an act of humility and a cry of desperation–conceding that only Jesus could comfort her.

A conceding faith is total reliance on God. Miracles in our life will happen after we set aside our own plans and surrender everything to God. We concede and admit our reliance on the Lord.

2. U nshakable Faith

T he silence of Jesus when the Canaanite woman cried for help and the advice of the disciples to send her away could have been enough to discourage her. As Jesus was probing her faith, she showed she was insistent. Her faith was unshakeable even though her importunity made the disciples uncomfortable.

J esus is a person who is always attentive to those who ask and cry for help. “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him.?” (Luke 11:13).

I f we have unshakable faith, the holy Spirit and his power and wisdom will be given to us. If a miracle did happen to the Canaanite woman, they will also happen to all of us whom the Lord has called.

A nother example of a miracle of importunity is the healing of Jairus' daughter. Jairus “pleaded earnestly with him, saying, ‘My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” (Mark 5:23 ). [The woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years was also healed because of her unshakable faith. (Mark 5:25-34).]

O ur own faith should be unshakable. Aren't we closer to God than the Canaanite woman?

3. U nwavering Faith

T he Canaanite woman had an unwavering faith. Despite Jesus' initial silence and the disciples' words of discouragement, she did not waver. She was persistent in calling to Jesus and paying him homage. She repeated her cry “Lord, help me.” And touched the heart of Jesus with her statement of humility and helplessness. “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” (Matthew 15:27).

W hen we ourselves pray to the Lord, do we pray without wavering? Do we pray correctly and with the right approach? Different situations in our life require different prayers. Let us examine our prayers. Are we forgetting anything? It is not enough to have only one prayer for all our requests. We should also be excited always in our prayers. We should pray earnestly and repeatedly as Jesus did at the Garden of Gethsemane . (Mark 14:32-42).

L et us ask for blessings and miracle without doubting. “But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.” (James 1:6). Often, we pray but at the back of our mind, we still doubt. We should not waiver; otherwise, our prayers will not be answered by God.

4. F earless and Bold Faith

T he Canaanite woman begged for mercy. She had no fear. She did not mind whether she was a Jew or a Gentile; or a family member or not.

H ers was a bold plea for the Lord to help her. She had no fear and doubt that Jesus would not help her. She must have thought, “Whether I am Israelite or not, I shall come to the Son of David and ask for mercy. I will not let Jesus go unless He blesses me.” She was like Jacob who wrestled with an angel until he was blessed. (Genesis 32:23-33).

O ur own faith should be like that of the Canaanite woman: a begging, fearless and bold faith. We firmly should believe that God will answer all our prayers.

5. E xpectant and Anticipating Faith

J esus initially said to the Canaanite woman, “It is not right to take the food of children and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26). This statement is similar to saying “Sorry, you are hopeless.” But the woman was not discouraged. She must have heard that she, as a Gentile, is looked upon by Jews with great contempt and that God's blessings and favors are viewed by the Jews as appropriate only to them as the chosen people. She did not mind being considered as “dogs” and was humble enough to accept such.

J esus is teaching us that we should all humble ourselves and have a sense of meekness and unworthiness. He wants us to be at the bottom so He can raise us up. Let us learn and accept to be “dogs” and be among the least of all. Let us have the humility of being poor Gentiles and “dogs” who feel truly blessed “eating the scraps” from the Lord – rejoicing always that it is the Lord who is the source of the “scraps.” With such expectant and anticipating faith, we get truly excited that miracles of importunity will happen to us!

6. E xtravagant Faith

T he faith of the woman that touched the heart of Jesus was truly extravagant. Her trust, confidence, and expectations in Jesus were excessive, lavish, abundant and generous. She did not allow herself to be discouraged. She worshipped and paid homage to Jesus. She showed her steadfast faith and Jesus heard and accepted her like a true daughter of Israel . She was persistent in soliciting God's favor and she prevailed. “Then Jesus said to her in reply, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.' And her daughter was healed from that hour.” (Matthew 15:28).

B ecause of her great faith, her daughter was healed. There was a miracle of importunity. There was a miracle because of her persistent faith, her humility [she was willing to be as low as a dog], her meekness [she did not speak against the Lord], her patience, her perseverance in prayer, and her wisdom [she was given wisdom in knowing how to rebut the Lord's comment].