Scripture Reading: Heb. 10:35-37
“So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. You need to persevere so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay…”
Text: Matt. 15:21-28
Prayers
• The mighty hand of the Lord delivers and redeems (Moses reminded the people that because God loved His people, he delivered and redeemed them from the bondage of Egypt - Deut. 5:15; Deut. 7:8)
o Pray that the Lord will stretch His hands to bring you and your family out of all forms of bondage, in Jesus’ name, because of His love for you.
• The hand of the Lord is mighty to dash our enemies and puts a new song in the victor’s mouth (Exo. 15:6)
o Pray that the Lord will stretch His hands and dash your enemies.
• The mighty hand of the Lord raises, promotes, and exalts the humble (1 Pet. 5:5-6)
o Ask that the Lord lift you with his mighty hands in your workplace
• The mighty hand of the Lord prevents one from falling and being utterly cast down (Psalm 37:24)
o Pray that God will uphold you with His hands of righteousness. In your Christian journey, you will not fall.
• The mighty hand of the Lord makes people great and strong, and gives wealth and honor (1 Chron. 29:12)
o Pray that God’s hands will touch your work and business, for prosperity
o Pray that His mighty hands will enter into your children’s lives for greatness
• The mighty hand of the Lord is a good place to fall into, for correction, mercy, and restoration (David prayed to fall into the hand of God instead of men’s 2 Sam. 24:14-18). May we not fall into the hands of men, in Jesus’ name.
o Pray that you will not fall into the hands of merciless men.
I read the story of a woman who wanted to experience the mighty hand of God. The story goes thus: ‘I entered into a church for the first time, where no one knew me. People knew neither my name nor what I was going through. I was neither greeted nor made welcome.
I came to the place because I had a big problem, so severe that I did not know where else to turn. I heard there was one last person, the shepherd of that church, who could help me.
When I saw the man who was my last hope, I cried, “Have mercy on me, O Shepherd.” Of course, I had done some research about Him Before I came, and believed that if I could at least address him by his name, he would give me an audience. I had heard that the man performed miracles.
To my surprise, however, this supposedly good man first snubbed me. He gave me no attention; instead, he was busy doing other things. Even though I cried aloud and openly revealed my problem, I told Him that my daughter was demon-tormented. He neither looked at me nor said anything to recognize my presence.
If you want to see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must be patient.
Not only did his lack of response represent a “NO, “but His assistants also helped Him to say, “NO.”
They told Him, “Send her away; for she crieth after us.” My cry and demand were becoming annoying; they wanted no part of my disturbance.
If you are going to see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must be able to stand in the face of rejection.
When this powerful man finally decided to say something, He told me He was not sent to people like me. This meant He could not and would not attend to me. Oh my God, now what?
If you will see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must be willing to accept insults.
If all else had failed, the last man I sought would dismiss me unceremoniously. Is there anybody who could help?
First, He ignored me, and then He said He was not sent to people of my kind. This is saying “NO” twice already, apart from the insult from his assistants and church members. Yes, I heard them say “NO”.
Although all the ways of having Him attend to me were blocked, I decided to persist. I loved my daughter so much; I would do anything to get her healed. After his second insult, I knelt and worshiped Him, and asked him to please help me. Nothing else I could do. There was nowhere else to go. I decided to stay and see.
If you want to see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must be persistent.
The situation got worse. The next thing he would say was to compare me with a DOG, with no reservations. Whoa, a DOG? How bad can this get? Now He was looking for a way to send the message that the answer would remain, “NO.”
If you are going to see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must be able to take insult upon insult.
Yes, I knew the answer was “NO”, but I have read and known too much about this man to give up on Him. I have heard that He went about doing good. I knew He was not mean, wicked, or disrespectful. I just knew I was in good hands. I was not going to be embarrassed. I was not going to give up. Everybody around me felt I had to be insane to persist in the face of insults. However, I knew the healing for my daughter was not going to be based on my holiness or my cultural background. It would happen because of His holiness and my faith and persistence. I knew He would heal my daughter.
If you are going to see the mighty hand of God in your life, you must not lose your confidence in Christ.
After he likened me to a dog, I told him, yes, I know, but dogs indeed eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. So, if the crumb that falls from your table is the restoration of my daughter, I’ll take it. I, therefore, will not leave you until you attend to my case. I have been told that I cannot make it because of my accent and cultural background; that healing and blessing cannot come my way because my situation is too complex, but I have made up my mind. I will not take “NO” for an answer.
Jesus was the man. He finally turned to me and said, “O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Yes! I got it. I got it. He did not mean “NO”. He meant, let us see if you will persist. If you have prayed for so long and the answer seems not forthcoming, persist. Jesus will do it. He is developing your faith in the meantime.
Good news! Whether I had a name or not, I persisted. Whether I was recognized or not, my daughter was healed. Whether His initial answer was a 'no' or a 'yes', I did not give up. He was only testing my faith.
P.S.: If you are determined to be like me, you will become happy.
Oh, by the way, I was not significant, but my Jesus made me significant. He healed my child when He saw and heard my faith. We often feel that God Himself has said, “NO,” but we will receive our joy if we persist. You can read thoroughly about me in Matthew 15:21-28
We can see here that this woman experienced the mighty hand of God, receiving deliverance for her daughter.
If you want to experience the mighty hand of God:
1. Make your request known to the Lord (Matt. 15:22). Do not keep quiet; pray.
2. Be patient even when you feel ignored (Matt. 15:23), as if no one is hearing your cry
3. Remain humble and keep worshiping God (Matt. 15:24-26) even in the face of insult and rejection
4. You must not lose your confidence in Christ; have faith still (Matt. 15:27-28, Heb. 10:35-37). Maintain your faith in God, and all things are possible with God.
