A Woman of Great Faith

A Woman of Great Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus gives a great complement in our passage. He tells the gentile woman that her faith is great. Jesus only said this of one other person during his ministry. Here we will look at some of the aspects of her faith to increase our faith and maybe even have a great faith.

Why is the woman said to have great faith?

Some will say that it is because Jesus granted her request. That is if she had not had great faith he would not have granted. With this thought one might say the reason people do not get their prayers answered is a lack of faith. While a lack of faith can hinder prayer, it is not always the reason for a prayer not getting answered in the manner we would prefer.

Two examples of people who had great faith and did not get a prayer answered the way they wanted it to be answered.

Jesus (Matthew 26:36-46)                             Paul (2 Corinthians 12:6-10)

Some aspects of the woman’s faith:

1)  She believed who Jesus was (verse 22)

• Those who come to God must believe that he is a rewarder of those that seek him (Hebrews 11:6)

2)  She was not willing to quit (Verses 23-27)

• What takes more faith, a refusal or getting what you ask for?
• We must look at Luke 18:1 along with Hebrews 12:1-5 two help us with this thought.

3)  Her faith was based on truth, the word of God you could say (Verse 27)

• She quoted a verse from the Old Testament whether she intended to or not (Proverbs 12:10), and Jesus is definitely a righteous man.

What is the lesson for us?

We must like the woman humble ourselves before God and accept our place before him knowing that he is righteous and however he answers our prayer will be right and the best thing for us.