Summary
In this week’s service, Rev. Steve Mcllaine explores the powerful narrative of the Canaanite woman found in Matthew 15. Focusing on her desperate plea, “Lord, help me,” Pastor Mcllaine emphasizes that these simple, heartfelt words are often all we have left when we face life’s most difficult and overwhelming trials. The message delves into the profound experience of encountering God’s silence, reminding the congregation that even when prayers seem unanswered or circumstances remain unchanged, we can still find strength in reaching out to Him.
Through this biblical example, Pastor Mcllaine shares four essential lessons: bringing our raw and unpolished needs directly to Jesus; understanding that faith does not always guarantee immediate or expected answers; recognizing that God’s silence is not an indication of His absence; and maintaining the persistence to keep returning to Him. Ultimately, the service serves as a call to continue bringing our various burdens—whether they be grief, worry, or uncertainty—to Jesus, trusting in His presence and His perfect timing.
Today, we come to one of those gospel stories that can make us stop and ask some difficult questions. Jesus is approached by a Canaanite woman whose daughter is suffering terribly. She comes to Jesus with one simple request, Lord, help me. those may be some of the most powerful words a person could ever pray Lord help me sometimes that’s all we have left we may not know what to say we may not know what tomorrow will bring we may not understand why God has allowed some things to happen but somewhere deep inside we cry out, Lord, help me. And that’s what makes this story so powerful, is that this woman doesn’t give up when the answer doesn’t come immediately. Her faith keeps reaching. Matthew tells us that Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman comes to him crying out, Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David. my daughter is tormented by a demon think about that for a moment this is a mother who is hurting I know there’s a lot of mothers out here, huh? we understand we don’t know how long her daughter has suffered we don’t know everything that this woman has endured but we know enough she’s desperate has a way of stripping everything except what really matters. When someone we love is hurting, we’ll do just about anything for them. We’ll do things that we never thought we would do. We’ll drive throughout the middle of the night to go get them, or we’ll sit beside a hospital bed. We’ll make phone calls, or we’ll sit there and pray and pray and pray, and we’ll search for answers, and sometimes we will simply sit and cry because we don’t know what else to do. This woman comes to Jesus because she believes that somehow, some way, Jesus can help her daughter. And she begins with the prayer, Lord, have mercy.
Sometimes God doesn’t always answer the way we expect. We know this. But then something happens that is difficult for us to understand, that Matthew says that he didt answer her at all. She spoke, but he didn’t answer. Silence. Jesus returns with silence. Have you ever experienced that in your prayers? I have. You prayed, but nothing seems to happen. You ask God for help, but sometimes the situation doesn’t change. Or you prayed for healing, and yet the illness still continues. You prayed for peace, and anxiety still remains. You prayed for a relationship to be restored, but the distance continues. You prayed for a door to be opened, but yet it still remains closed. And perhaps the hardest prayer isn’t, God, please help me. Perhaps the hardest prayer is, God, are you listening? The silence of God can be one of the hardest experiences of faith. It tests us. It tries us.
This woman story reminds us that God’s silence is not necessarily God’s absence. Okay? Jesus was silent. But Jesus was still there. He heard her. And sometimes we have to learn to trust that God is present even when we don’t immediately see what God is doing. So the disciples, they become frustrated with her. They say essentially, send her away. Send her away. She’s bothering us. But she doesn’t leave. She comes closer and closer. And then she kneels before Jesus and she says, Lord, help me. There it is again. That simple prayer. Not a long theological statement. Not an impressive speech, just, Lord, help me. And I believe that there are times when that is exactly what God wants to hear from us. Sometimes our prayers are beautiful. Sometimes our prayers are carefully spoken because we want to make sure that we say everything exactly right for God. And sometimes all we can manage is, Lord, help me. and that’s enough. Jesus speaks to her about his mission to Israel and his purpose is there and the woman responds with remarkable humility and faith. She says, yes, Lord, that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. Those words are powerful. She isn’t demanding anything from Jesus. She isn’t claiming that she deserves something. She simply believes that even a little bit, just a little bit of Jesus’ mercy is enough.
What incredible faith that she has, right? She is saying, in effect, Jesus, I know who you are, right? She says, I know that you have the power to help my daughter. I am not asking for something that I can earn. I’m just asking for mercy. Mercy, Jesus. And Jesus responds with, Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done as you wish. Matthew tells us that her daughter was healed in that moment. In that instant, she was healed. She was delivered from that tormenting spirit. We can learn lessons from this woman. This story gives us several lessons about faith. And the first one that I could think of was faith brings our pain to Jesus. Okay? This woman didn’t hide her problems. She brought it to Jesus. Sometimes we think that we have to clean ourselves up. You know, we have to make ourselves better before we can come to God to be presentable. You know, this is God we’re talking about, right? You know, we think that we have to have everything figured out. But the gospel tells us something different, doesn’t it? Come as you are. Don’t get yourself fixed up. Come as you are. Let Jesus help you get fixed up. Bring your questions. Bring your fears. Bring your disappointments. Your broken heart. The things that you don’t understand. The things that you’re ashamed of. the people that you love. Bring everything, because Jesus already knows.
This woman didn’t come to Jesus because she had all the answers. Excuse me, this woman didn’t come because she had all the answers. She came because she knew where to take her needs. She knew who to take her needs to. And number two, faith doesn’t always mean immediate answers. I know this. I’ve experienced this in my life. I know that we all have had a taste of this. This is an important lesson for us all. This woman’s prayer wasn’t answered immediately, was it? If we remember, there was a bit of silence. Yeah. She experienced that silence. And then she experienced resistance from the disciples. Then she experienced disappointment, yet she continued to believe. Sometimes we assume that if we just have enough faith, you know, maybe enough faith, about the size of a mustard seed faith, that everything will happen exactly the way that we want it. But that’s not what faith means. Faith doesn’t mean that God will always do exactly what I want. Faith means that even when I don’t understand, I will continue to trust God. Faith isn’t believing that life will never be difficult. Faith is believing that God will be with us in the difficulty.
The number three lesson for today is don’t confuse God’s silence with God’s absence. I’ve asked in my prayer life, I’ll have to be honest with you. There have been times when I can hear God and I know immediately the answer is there. And there are other times that he’s quiet and he’s silent. And I’m like, did you hear me? Hey, are you listening? You know, and it’s personable like that with me. There may be moments in your life when you’re praying and you just hear nothing. You don’t assume that God has abandoned you. That’s not true. The woman in the story experienced silence, but she stayed, remember? And she also came closer. Sometimes the work that God is doing in our lives is beneath the surface. It’s like a seed that’s planted in the ground, right? We may not see what’s happening, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening, right? Yeah. God may be working in ways that we just cannot see quite yet.
Then our fourth lesson for today is that persistent faith keeps coming back to Jesus. Once we know where to go and our faith is in Him, we keep coming back to Jesus. So this Canaanite woman teaches us something beautiful. She kept coming back. She didn’t go away when she got pushed away. She didn’t turn around and go back when she felt the silence. She just kept coming back. There are times when our greatest act of faith is simply getting up tomorrow morning and praying again. Yes, sometimes that is just the greatest faith in that very moment. And we pray, Lord, help me today. And then the next day, Lord, help me. And the next, Lord, I still need you. That’s faith. Praying every day, persistently keep coming. Sometimes faith isn’t like a mountaintop movement. Sometimes faith is just simply refusing to walk away from Jesus, staying with him.
I think about all the people sitting in churches today and who are carrying something heavy. Someone may be worried about a child. Someone may be worried about a grandchild. Someone may be dealing with some financial problems. Someone may be grieving someone that they love. Someone may be facing a difficult diagnosis. Someone may be struggling with loneliness. Someone may be worried about the future. And maybe someone came to church today wondering, does God really hear me? Matthew 15 tells us, keep bringing your needs to Jesus. Keep praying, keep trusting, keep believing, keep coming. You may not understand the answer, you may not understand the timing, and you may not understand what God is doing, but don’t give up on the one who never gave up on you. Amen? Amen.
Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, we come before you today just as we are. Some of us come with joy. Some come with questions. Some carrying burdens that no one else knows about. Some of us are praying for people we love. Lord, teach us the faith of the Canaanite woman. Help us to keep coming to you. When you seem silent, help us trust. When we are disappointed, help us remain faithful. When we are afraid, remind us that you are near. Give us the courage to pray, Lord, help me, knowing that you hear us. Help us to trust your timing, your wisdom, and your love. And when we cannot see the way forward, give us enough faith to take the next step. We place our lives, our family, and our church, and those we love into your hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, we pray. Amen. Thank you.