Sermon - Reminiscere 2020 - Matthew 15:21-28

Last week we considered the idiom “fighting your demons,” and how we really do fight against the devil when we fight against our temptations. This week we might consider another idiomatic term: a “prayer warrior.” It’s a term often used by evangelicals to refer to someone who prays for other people very fervently. A “prayer warrior” is someone who fights against the issues in this world through prayer. 

That’s a good thing to do and prayer is a good weapon to use against Satan. In our texts today you might call both Jacob and the Canaanite woman “prayer warriors.” However, did you notice that they’re not fighting or wrestling against the issues in this world, but they’re wrestling with God? Indeed! A Christian wrestles with God in prayer, and through faith is victorious.

What a strange and incredible and profound thing we see here in the scriptures! “And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day... Then the man said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”” Jacob literally wrestled with the Son of God in prayer all night long until God blessed him!

The Canaanite woman does the same thing, although she doesn’t literally wrestle with God in the dirt, she is still wrestling with the Son of God in prayer until God blesses her. When she heard that Christ was passing by, she went out and cried to Him continually, repeatedly, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David.” “Lord, help me!” She didn’t give up, even when others undoubtedly told her to stop, she relentlessly wrestled with God until she received mercy from the Lord.

In these two accounts we see examples of what must take place in every Christian’s life as we wrestle against God in prayer and come out victorious on account of our faith. Because you see, that’s what this whole thing is about: it’s all about faith.

This is a good opportunity to be reminded that our faith needs to be exercised. Now certainly, God tempts no one, as we confess in the Lord’s Prayer and as James explains. However, God does send us sadness and trials and tribulations, not so that we might be tempted towards sin, but so that our faith might be exercised.  

St. Peter writes: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Faith endures all tribulations with peace. Faith is thrown into the stickiest situations, the greatest suffering, and comes out stronger. Faith comes across a lion in the woods with confidence. It’s when things are easy and nice, when things are quiet without trials, that then faith begins to die out and the slightest rustling of a leaf extinguishes it. 

So God, in order to make the soil of your heart ready and prepared for the seed of His Word to sprout and grow, He plows your heart with crosses and trials. He sends you sadness so that you might cry out to Him and exercise your faith. He gives you something difficult so that He might bless you and heal you, and declare: “Great is your faith!” 

So let’s now consider what it means to wrestle with God in prayer based upon the three ways the Canaanite woman does. 

Firstly, the Canaanite woman bore a difficult cross, she said: “my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Demons would often make people harm themselves with anything they can get their hands on. For this mother, it would’ve likely meant always being vigilant to restrain her daughter, treating her injuries, and repeatedly watching her little girl suffer so greatly.

The Mother’s life was not nice and quiet and easy. It was miserable and painful. But in faith she tore herself away from her daughter’s side, for a little bit, when she heard that Christ had come! She couldn’t help but seek Him out and pray to Him!

Similarly, when great crosses descend upon us, God gives us the opportunity to exercise our faith by relying upon Him to relieve our sorrows. The believing Christian, like the Canaanite woman, cannot help but turn to Christ in prayer when difficulties arise. 

Why should we pray? Because God is our fountain spring of life! Thus it is in Him we must hope and trust. When crosses come we have nowhere to go but Christ. Our faith has but one foundation and that is Jesus Christ our Lord. Every cross that comes your way God uses in order to build your faith up in Him.

You have a gracious and loving God. He covets your prayers. He longs for your voice. 

But after praying comes the second way in which our faith is given the opportunity for exercise: God is silent. After the Canaanite woman cried out, behold, “He did not answer her a word.”Here she was in dire need! Leaving her daughter so that she could speak to Christ! God was silent. He delayed help.

The same thing has been experienced by all the saints. Man cries out and God delays. Here is where we have much to learn from Jacob and the Canaanite woman. When at first God doesn’t answer, they hold on in faith and keep praying. Just picture this lady pestering Jesus, embarrassing the disciples. “His disciples came and begged Jesus, saying, ‘Send her away, for she is crying out after us.’” If Jesus doesn’t at first seem to hear, what does she do? She runs after Him and repeatedly prays to God until she gets an answer! She’s a prayer warrior, wrestling with God.

So when God is silent and delays in response to your prayers, don’t assume that God is refusing you, rather treat it as an exercise in faith. Cry out all the more! Wrestle with God and don’t let Him go! Fervently cling to Him with all your faith! Cry out after Him and pester Him all you can! It will only leave you stronger at the end.

The third test comes in the midst of the silence and you assume that you’re not worthy, which is why God isn’t answering. Perhaps this test comes when you read the scriptures, and you hear Jesus say: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel… It is not right to take the Children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” So often anxiety, depression, and worry enters into our hearts and we despair that God’s goodness is not for us.

But here again, faith prevails when faith says that it’s not about us nor our worthiness, but all depends on God’s grace and generosity. The woman’s prayer relied upon God’s mercy, not her merits. So the woman replies in faith, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’ table.” Yes, Lord, I am unworthy, I don’t deserve your love, but I am happy enough to lap up the crumbs of grace from the floor.

Jesus’ response is so comforting! “Great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” With those words Jesus reveals that she is one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel; she is the child seated at her father’s table! By faith all of this is hers and God hears her prayer! 

By faith you are one of God’s lost sheep. By faith you are the Father’s beloved child. By faith you sit at the Father’s table and feast with Him. He gives not only crumbs, but He gives you the best and the greatest! He feeds you not crumbs from heaven, but He gives you heaven itself at the altar! He’s not ignoring you, but He’s patiently listening to you! He doesn’t delight in your crosses, but He weeps with you, and bears all of your pain on His cross! 

He allows all of these crosses in our lives, He remains silent, He does all of this so that our faith might be stronger. With this strengthened faith we wrestle with God and win. He doesn’t want us to lose; He wants us to be strong; He wants us to believe and trust not in ourselves, but in Him. He allows these crosses in our lives so that we might stop looking to ourselves and our worthiness, and instead look to Him on His cross and find in Him our healing.