There once was a king who sought advice from a sage about how to govern his kingdom so that it would enjoy peace, progress, and prosperity and be free of crimes, violence, and wars. The sage said, to govern your kingdom that way, you must govern yourself first. As the Son of God said,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Mt 3:66).

The king said, “I know, but the kingdom of God is too far. I don’t have the vehicle to go there.” The sage said, “As a king, if you don’t have the vehicle, who will have it, and who can attain the kingdom of God?” Then the sage added, “The vehicle to the kingdom of God is simple: a humble spirit.” As Jesus said,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3).

Poor in spirit is an Aramaic idiom for a humble heart. The sage implied that the king couldn’t attain the kingdom of God, not because he didn’t have the means to seek it but because he was full of himself.

This reminds me of another parable.

A professor hiked up to the high mountain to ask the sage to impart his wisdom to him. He introduced himself as one of the most accomplished professors in the country’s best university. The sage asked him to slow down and sit at his tea table and began serving him tea.

The cup became full, but the sage continued pouring tea into it, and it began to overflow and spill onto the table. The professor laughed at the sage’s clumsiness,

“Oh, old man, don’t you see the cup is already full? You can’t fill it anymore.”

“You are right,” the sage replied. “When the cup is full, you can’t fill it with anything. Please come back when your cup is empty.” With that, the sage turned away the professor, implying he was not ready to learn because he was full of himself.

I often wonder how often we approach God and ask God to give us what we want without leaving room for God to provide. The king wants to develop his nation without developing himself. The professor wants more wisdom without humility.

In today’s scripture lesson, Mark recorded two incidents Jesus encountered that revealed the secret to answered prayers. It’s an open secret that everyone knows but fails to put into practice. The secret is humility, but it’s easier said than done. Even the great Benjamin Franking admitted that he failed in this aspect.

Today, we will learn how Jesus answered the prayers of two situations so that we can improve our prayer life as well. So, let’s begin!

The scripture lesson for today is from the Gospel According to Mark 7:24-37. [Listen to the Word of the Lord!]

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (Mark 7:24-37)

[Blessed are those who delight in God’s Word. Thanks be to God!]

This passage has two strange stories of answered prayers. They are very unusual, puzzling, and somewhat shocking at a glance. Jesus sounds rude to the woman in the first story, and he seems gross, touching the man’s tongue with his spit in the second one.

What is Jesus teaching us through these two strange stories? Let’s explore. Jesus was in the region of Tyre, a Gentile territory populated by Syrophoenicians. The Bible says,

“He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice.” (Mk 7:24).

This indicates that his fame had reached beyond the Jewish territory. Even foreigners were noticing his whereabouts. A Syrophoenician woman barged into the house and asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter. Jesus’ reputation has reached Gentiles.

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” (Mk 7:27).

This statement does not sound like the gracious Jesus we know. He made a politically incorrect statement. Jesus said that he came for God’s children but not for the dogs, meaning he came to care for the Jews, not the Gentiles.

In the first century Israel, the Jews regarded the Gentiles who didn’t know the Bible as barbaric street dogs. This attitude is in all races. For example, the Chinese often called foreigners devils. The tribal mentality is a global sin passed down from generation to generation.

Jesus was playing the devil’s advocate, so to speak. Speaking like a Jew, Jesus said, “My priority is to feed the civilized Jews, not the barbarians like you?” It sounds rude and discriminatory. Why does the Son of God, known to be full of “grace upon grace,” utter such prejudicial words? We need to understand the context to see the audience of this teaching.

Even though Mark didn’t state it, we can imagine a large crowd was there to witness this scene. Mark only said that Jesus couldn’t escape notice. That means people were there. He just fed five thousand people and was about to feed another four thousand. We can conclude that many Jews were watching what he would do.

There must even be some Pharisees and scribes trying to catch him red-handed when he slipped. By saying he was here to feed the children, he established himself as God because Jews are God’s children. By calling the Gentiles doges, he affirmed to the Jews that he was on their side.

At the same time, he was teaching a lesson to the Jews. Jesus knew this woman’s heart, and he wanted his people to learn from her. He knew how she would answer, and he wanted them to hear.

In those days, many Jews followed Jesus because they had a prayer that they wanted God to fulfill. They wanted liberation from the corrupt King Herod, the Roman occupation, and restoration of national honor. They might have been praying and weeping at the western wall, but like the king and the professor in the story, they were full of themselves.

What the Jews wanted may be as desperate as what this Syrophenisian woman wanted: the salvation of her daughter and the future of their children. Through the lips of this Gentile woman, Jesus wants the Jews to hear the first secret of the answered prayer.

1. Pray with Humble Faith

The woman’s answer is very humbling for anyone who hears it,

“Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mk 7:28).

This woman had zero ego. Instead of taking offense, she accepted that she was a dog. She could have run out of the house and called her Syrophoenician neighbors to protest against this foreign rabbi who called them dogs. Jesus could have started a racial riot with his harsh statement.

We live in a world with inflated egos. Our society promotes pride parades everywhere, and we protest and put down any attempt to teach us humility. We confuse wokeness with social justice.

This Syrophenisian woman humbled us as a counter-cultural symbol of egolessness. Now, her humble faith lives in the Bible for generations to learn. Hearing Jesus call the Jews his children, she recognized Jesus as the Lord and believed even more strongly that her daughter had hope.

Faith and humility go together. She was humble, not because she was a minority. She was among the majority in this region, and she could choose to harm Jesus by gathering her tribe in the community. Her choice to stay humble is more remarkable than humility without choice.

Jesus wants us to become like children. Children live by trust and humility. This Syrophoenician woman displayed child-like faith. All she wanted was the crumbs under the table, the spilled-over grace, and the leftover from the Jews.

She believed if the God of the Jews is the creator of the universe, He will not ignore His own creation, even a dog. This reminds me of what the Lord said to Jonah, who despised the Gentiles in the city of Nineveh because they were godless and uncivilized street dogs. God said to the grumpy Jonah,

“And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” (Jon 4:11).

Can you imagine God’s reason to save the city include animals? That was the last verse in the Book of Jonah. Notice that God said He cares about those ignorant people in Nineveh and many animals too. The Bible is full of verses about how God cares not only the people but also the animals, big and small.

So, this Syrophoenician woman’s words are full of wisdom. She must know the scriptures. Not only did she not take offense at being called a dog, but she also believed God would not ignore a starving animal. Her faith is truly exemplary. Jesus revealed that her prayer was answered immediately due to her humble faith.

Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. (Mk 7:29-30)

What’s your prayer these days? Do you believe that God cares about every creature in His creation? As Jesus said, God feeds the birds and dresses the wildflowers. Would He not care even more about what you need? Trust that truth and pray with humble faith. Don’t let your ego stand in the way.

The second story happened when Jesus then moved on to more foreign territories and arrived at Decapolis, the southeast region of the Sea of Galilee. Tyre, where he met the Syrophoenician woman, was in the northwest. So, that also means Jesus’ influence had reached pretty far and wide. Decapolis is a Greek territory, and people still kept him busy when he arrived here.

“They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.” (Mk 7:32).

This request differs from that of the Syrophoenician woman, who asked for her daughter. It was more personal. This one is a request by a group of people for their friend. It’s an example of a group petition for a friend. Notice they did not just ask Jesus but begged him. It shows their humility and sincerity.

There are other stories of friends requesting a favor for a third person. You might remember in Mark 2, we read about the four enthusiastic friends who opened the roof of the house to drop a paralytic down in front of Jesus because they couldn’t pass through the crowded door.

That reveals to us the second essential element of answered prayer.

2. Borrow the Faith of Friends

Sometimes our faith can be crippled or weak, like the paralytic, due to some hardship. Sometimes, we might have an impediment in prayer, like the deaf man with an impediment in speech, maybe because of a traumatic experience. At times like that, rely on the faith of your friends.

Some of you know I grew up in a dysfunctional environment, and I had lost faith in humanity. Like this crippled man, my faith was impaired by the trauma. But I am grateful that my grandparents prayed for me even though they didn’t know how to help me. My parents pray for me. My wife prays for me. My friends pray for me. My church pray for me.

Healing can happen relying on other people’s faith, which means your faith can help others as well.

It will be helpful to keep a list of friends who have the gift of prayer and humble faith. When you find your faith too weak to pray, ask them to petition for you. Stories like this reveal that God listens to the petition of your faithful friends.

Columbia University Hospital conducted a scientific research study some years ago on the effect of prayer on healing. They asked a group of people to pray for specific patients. It was a double-blind study, and the results showed around 30% improvement, which is still significant. Some scientists today concluded that it could be as high as 70%.

This time, Jesus answered the prayer in a completely unexpected way, revealing that God’s response to prayer is not always typical.

He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. (Mk 7:33-35).

Jesus healed the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter from a distance without seeing or touching, but he deployed many unusual contacts to heal this deaf man. Contemporary medicine of first-century Israel used human spit to cure certain diseases because human saliva has some antidotal effects.

Here, Jesus reveals to us that, while God could heal a person from a distance, God could also use modern medicine to answer a prayer for healing.

We have heard of people who rely only on prayer and refuse to receive contemporary medicine. Here, Jesus indicates that God may answer our prayers miraculously or medically. It is our choice to pray, but it’s God’s choice to answer us in the best way.

Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. (Mk 7:36)

Here, Jesus shows his own humility by avoiding fame and fortune. He is here to fulfill God’s will, and by his humility, he lets God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. He didn’t have to force it. The passage ended by saying,

They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” (Mk 7:37)

Based on Genesis, the statement, “He has done everything well,” is an attribute to God who created this beautiful world. It’s proof of Jesus’ divinity because only God can do everything well. His way is God’s way.

There we have it: the two simple principles we learned from the Lord about prayer in this passage.

1. Pray with Humble Faith

2. Borrow the Faith of Friends

Let’s put what we learn into practice. Until we meet again, keep your light shining brighter and broader and harvest the fruit of profound freedom, wholeness, and happiness. Amen!

Bye now!