“I will pray for you.”
We say this often when we intend to intercede for others in their needs. But we hardly reflect on the grave obligation and power in those words. We fail to realize what bringing others’ needs before God and bringing God’s blessings to them really entails.
The Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 shows us that, for us to intercede for others before God and win graces for them, it is not enough to simply offer prayers for them. To intercede for others effectively, we must be ready to endure many things and practice many virtues.
We must practice humble trust in God
The woman came to Jesus, a Jew, even though she was a Gentile. She did not turn to any of the many pagan gods of her people. She seemingly did not try to drive out the demon on her own. She also realized that she needed help and was not ashamed to say so. She humbly and trustingly approached Jesus because she had faith in Him as the Good Lord, saying, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David.”
For us to intercede for others, we must also come to Jesus with the same humble trust of this woman. We do not pray for others based on our own merit and virtue. We come to Jesus even when we feel unworthy and unprepared to intercede for others. We approach Him because He is the Lord and He is always good to all persons.
Our prayer must be confident
This woman confidently presented her situation in prayer to Jesus: “My daughter is tormented by a demon.” She simply stated the need of her beloved daughter without telling Him what to do. She prayed out of love for her daughter and then allowed Jesus to act and respond in any way that He wanted.
She reminds us of the confident and loving words of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the wedding feast of Cana. Speaking to Jesus of the wedding couple and their guests, she said, “They have no wine” (Jn. 2:3). These types of prayer show love for others and confidence in Jesus. They always obtain for us the graces we desire.
In praying for others, we too should simply bring their needs to Jesus in prayer and allow Him to act. We pray for them with love to a God of love. So, we are not to give in to worry and anxiety for them as we pray for them. We also do not try to be the Savior for them. Pray out of love and give God a chance to act as Lord.
We must be courageous
The Canaanite woman is not discouraged by anything. Jesus initially gives her a cold shoulder: “But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.” Jesus’ disciples also declared her a nuisance and urged Him to dismiss her, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” Jesus then refused her request, answering, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But neither the silence of Jesus, nor the rejection by His disciples, nor His refusal discouraged this woman.
Are we discouraged when Jesus is silent in our prayer? Do we give up when the situations of our loved ones deteriorate after many years of praying for them? Do we give up when we feel rejected and unwanted by others? Authentic intercessors do not get discouraged for any reason because they believe in the goodness of the Lord Jesus.
We must persevere in prayer
The woman still approached to pray and worship Jesus. “She came and did Him homage saying, ‘Lord, help me.’” This woman never stopped calling Jesus, “Lord,” worshiping Him, and asking for His help. Even if Jesus is silent or refusing her request, or she is dismissed by others, she would still approach Him as her sovereign Lord.
Do we also persevere in prayer to Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Do we submit to Him and depend on Him even when we don’t see signs of Him answering our prayers? Do we give in to the temptation to rebel and act as if we are our own lords? True intercessors continuously worship, pray, and submit to Jesus as their Lord.
We must be ready to accept whatever God offers us in return
When Jesus said to the woman that it was not right to give the children’s food to dogs, this woman replied by saying that she was ready to accept whatever He would offer her: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” She does not claim any right to what she is asking for, but she is convinced of the goodness and graciousness of Jesus to all people.
As intercessors, are we also open to accepting whatever Jesus may offer to us in response to our prayers? We may not receive what we are asking for but He will give us what we need at that moment. How open are we to receiving all that Jesus permits in our lives as we intercede for others? Do we lose our peace when we don’t get what we expected and prayed for?
This woman prayed and endured for her daughter till the very end, and Jesus praised her faith and granted her all her wishes, exclaiming, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Her faith was great because she believed in His goodness above all things. She interceded successfully because she believed in the goodness of Jesus the Lord. She believed that He would diffuse His goodness to her daughter through her prayer. Through this faith, she came to experience the power of her intercession as her daughter was delivered from the demon at that moment. An intercessor obtained the liberation of a loved one from demons.
St. Paul reminded the Church in Rome that God shows His goodness in permitting disobedience in all persons, Jews and Gentiles alike. He does not force them to obey Him but permits their free choices because He wants to have mercy on all people, “For God delivered all to disobedience that He might have mercy on all” (Rom. 11:13-15). This is the goodness of God to all—saints and sinners—all the time.
This is a powerful reminder that, even as we face our own evils and the many evils in the world, we can still be instruments and channels of God’s mercy and healing to others. We can pray and cultivate the many virtues that we need to be effective intercessors for those who are struggling with many evils and sins. We can endure many things to bring them the grace of God only because of our faith in the undying goodness and Lordship of Jesus Christ.
We experience this goodness of God for us in each Eucharist. It is also in this sacrament that Jesus nourishes our faith in His loving goodness to us all. Let us believe and abide in this divine goodness so that we can become effective intercessors for all our beloved brothers and sisters in all their times of need.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by Justin Follis on Unsplash
