Bible Verse of the Day Thursday February 16th ,2023

 Matthew 15:22-25 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly. “Jesus did not answer a word. So, his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

Those still waiting for an answer to prayer can be comforted by this remarkable story of a Gentile woman who came to Jesus, asking him to free her daughter of Satanic control. Even though this Woman had come to the Savior with great faith that Jesus could heal her daughter, Jesus delayed in healing the girl. Sometimes we do not understand why the Lord has not granted our petitions even though we have been praying for them for quite some time. Occasionally, we find immediate gladness when we pray to God, but in most cases, we will have to wait on Jesus' time instead of our schedule. Jesus always has a reason for any delay in answering prayer, and in the case of the delay in the healing of the Canaanite Woman's daughter, it was to test her faith. In our own experiences, we can look back when our prayers were not answered immediately and realize how much we have grown in our faith.

 Undeterred, this mother continued in her pursuit, indicating that her faith that Jesus could heal her daughter was strong. In some cases, like the Jailer in Philippi that asked Paul how he could come to know Jesus as his Savior, God's response comes immediately, but in most cases, our faith will carry us through the tribulation. God will use trials in our life to strengthen our faith in Him and to mature us spiritually, as He did in the life of Abraham (Romans 4:20).

 There will be times that the tribulation we are experiencing will intensify even though we have gone to God in Prayer, and in those times, we will need patients to endure to the end of the trial. Charles Spurgeon once wrote: The Word spoke not a word,' which was so unlike him. He, who was always so ready with responses to the cry of grief, had no answer for her. She could not solve the problems of her race's destiny and the Lord's commission, but she could pray if, as a Shepherd, he may not gather her, yet, as Lord, he may help her."

 Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

 Jesus only said this to one other person, the Roman Centurion, asking Jesus to heal his servant. In the case of the Centurion, Jesus spoke it to the crowd (Matthew 8:10), but the mother who came to Jesus for her daughter heard it directly from Jesus Himself. God measures immense faith by its difficulties and drawbacks; in both cases, these that came to Jesus were not part of the "lost sheep of Israel." Faith is also the greatest when the petition we bring to Christ Jesus is on behalf of someone other than ourselves.