The Key to Answered Prayer

I have a dog who has developed the habit of begging. Every time I go into the kitchen to prepare a meal, my chihuahua marches in, and starts barking incessantly. He demands my attention and will not stop until I throw some scrap of something down past his nose. I suppose in his own way, he has become engrained with the fact that I will always toss some small morsel his way. The trouble is that he always wants more, and he is not afraid to beg me with every ounce of energy to get it.

I am reminded of a passage of scripture in the book of Matthew, where a Canaanite woman begs Jesus to heal her daughter. Now, this passage has always bothered me a bit, because it shows a side of Jesus I don’t like. Jesus and his disciples had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon to find some rest, but instead they encountered a woman in desperate need. She cries out to Jesus and the disciples day and night, so much so that the disciples try to get Jesus to send her away. Jesus refuses to answer her, and even when she comes and falls in front of him, He tells her that she is not worthy, implying that she does not deserve the same treatment as the children of Israel. “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. (Matt. 15:26). But the widow persists, reminding Jesus that even dogs beg from their master’s table. Jesus, seeing her faith, grants her request.

Was Jesus truly being a bigot? Did he try to imply that this needy woman was not worthy of His love and compassion? Or is there something else going on here? Could it be that Jesus is trying to teach us a lesson in prayer?

I think that one of the reasons many of us do not see answered prayer in our lives is we have decided we are too good to be beggars. We make a request of God and when it looks like He might be too busy to be concerned with our request, we chalk it up to God’s will and continue with our lives. We decide that some prayers get answered and others don’t. This kind of lackadaisical attitude allows us to preserve our dignity and not get our spiritual clothes dirty. We don’t have to embarrass ourselves in front of our Christian family and endure their ridicule. So, we stay quiet, make a timid request, and convince ourselves that we have prayed.

But this needy woman was not afraid to come before the Lord with humility and persistence. She gets herself filthy breathing the dirt at Jesus’ feet. When Jesus tries to turn her away, and she does not get the answer she wants, she persists on making her case. She begs and wails morning, noon, and night. She argues with Jesus. She demands His attention. She will not rest until He has come through for her daughter. She will keep crying and keep crying. She will plead incessantly until something breaks. She will not give up in making her requests known before the Lord.

This woman does not care how she looks to God. She does not give a flip about what the disciples think of her. She only cares on one thing. Motivating Jesus to heal her daughter. She knows that even the scraps of a meal intended for someone else are enough to accomplish what she cannot.

When the last time you and I approached God in this way? When was the last time we humbled ourselves enough to just beg Him to do what only He can? We offer pious prayers, checking off the names of a prayer list, but we fail to prostrate ourselves at the feet of the Savior and plead until we have no energy left. WE FORGET THE POWER OF CONSTANT FERVENT PRAYER. We prefer the façade of religious piety. It is much more comfortable for us to be pious and proper than it is to be desperate and needy. I think that some of us have decided that we are too good a Christian to be this begging woman. A good Christian should have faith! Confidence in what God can do! A good Christian would never be caught begging. We are good enough to sit at God’s table, to partake in all the bounty that he offers. At least that is what we tell ourselves.

The truth is that none of us are better than the dogs that beg for scraps. I am tired of listening to the Christians who claim to believe in the power of prayer but are unwilling to beg to see God move.

So, frankly you keep your prayer meetings. You can attend your religious services. Recite your liturgies. Be the pious Christian, you believe you are.

Me, I’m joining my Chihuahua.