something old/something new

sunshiney day

But He did not answer her a word.

Jesus did not answer the Syrophoenician woman. What's the deal? Why not?

I think of this sometimes when things are not going my way. I wonder what is the problem. I question my spiritual life. I wonder why is there no answer.

Jesus did not answer her a word. Many would say no answer is an answer of no. But it was not in this case. What if the woman took the no answer as an answer of no? She would have given up and not gotten the answer. But the woman did not take a lack of an answer as a no answer. She persisted until she got the answer she wanted.

Can we take that approach? It says in John 14:14 that if we ask anything in the name of Jesus He will give it to us.

Do we have the faith to continue in prayer to get the answer?

What does God want? Does He want obedience? Yes but He wants more than that. Does He want church attendance? Yes He wants us to gather together but He wants more than that. What does God want? From what I know of the Bible Hebrews 11:6 says that God is pleased with faith.

The woman was a woman of faith. Why? Because she had a serious need. It was not a perceived need. It was a need that bore clear down to her inner being. It was a need that cried out to her daily. It was a need she hurt for and felt for and cried for and longed for. The faith she had was not letting go of the answer to her need.

When she heard that Jesus was coming into her area, she went to Jesus. Jesus could do something about her need.

People don't have faith if they are not desperate to get something. People don't have faith that works if they are not feeling the need and crying out for the answer.

Faith is not intellectual. Faith is something that comes from God and is birthed in us. How we respond to this life within will determine what happens.

God can't do something if His people are not involved. God has decided to limit Himself in this way because He wants people to operate in His kingdom.

Don't let a lack of an answer foil your desire to do something for God. Don't give up hope of the life that God has put in your heart. Call out to God. Pray for His answer. God wants people of faith and people of faith must have love. For love to come we must care about someone.

He did not answer her a word.

We must look at life as an opportunity for great things. A lack of an answer means there will be a strong answer to strong prayer. No strong prayer no answer.

Are we willing to pay the price to get the answer God wants to give?

- - -Scott M.