The focus of this week’s lesson is on the receipt of the keys of the kingdom; as usual, the scriptures contain so many more lessons to be observed. As I started reading Lesson 13 today, I was touched by the faith of the Canaanite woman who pleaded with the Savior to heal her daughter. (Matthew 15:21-28)
The story initially appears to be your typical “Master, please heal” one, as found throughout the scriptures. However, when you take a second look, you realize that this Canaanite woman was not an Israelite; she was a Gentile. Thus, when she asked the Lord to heal her daughter, He refused, stating that He was sent only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (verse 24). Only after she persisted did He consent to heal her child.
As you look through the verses, note how many times she pleaded for aid. First she followed the disciples, but the Savior did not acknowledge her. He stated that His ministry was for the House of Israel; she asked again for help. He told her that it was not meet (or good) to cast the children’s bread before dogs; she pleaded for only a crumb. Three times, she pressed her case, undaunted by the Savior’s refusal to aid. Only after the third time, when she stated she was willing to accept less, did He acknowledge her great faith and “her daughter was made whole” (verse 28).
This woman was one who had not grown up looking for a Messiah, yet she recognized His divinity when He came. Although she did not belong to the same denomination as the disciples, still she had great faith. (A whole blog could be written on recognizing the great faith that lies in non-LDS Christians, but that’s not where I wanted to turn this one.) And though her faith was not one that was in any way taught in her youth, although her desires were not immediately granted despite this great faith, still she persisted.
There are times in our lives when we have lived righteously, are doing all we can, and still feel that our pleadings go unanswered. But even when we receive no revelation, no solution to our problems, no answer to our prayers, we must still press forward in faith. We must trust that the Lord knows what we are doing. He hears our prayers. He still loves us and knows what is best for us. And He wants us to continue exercising faith, even when it seems we cry out to Him in vain – because we never cry out to Him in vain. He always hears us and knows what response we most need. Our job is simply to continue exercising faith in Him.
Related Articles:
General Conference: Faith to Move Mountains
Gospel Doctrine: Peace, Be Still
For other talks relating to this week’s lesson, check out the Gospel Doctrine link.
Elder Richard G. Scott gave a great talk during the Saturday morning session on why we might not get an answer. Listen here.