Loud Silence

“We’ve all been there; the place where we so desperately need Jesus to intervene for our children.”

“Jesus did not answer a word.” Matthew 15:23

When we, as mamas, ask God for something, the silence can be deafening. All we hear is….nothing. Silence. There’s a frantic bubbling of anxiety in our souls that starts to surface when we hear aching silence. You don’t know my story, and to tell it in its entirety would take a novel of words. But a small portion of it can be related here, to this woman in the book of Matthew, and my hope is that you feel likeness in a similar way. 

You can read Matthew 15:21-28 for the whole story, but I’ll lay out the overview here. There’s a strong mama representation with this Canaanite woman. The Canaanite’s lived in the Promised Land before the Israelites. They worshiped idols which landed them in a spot to be a threat to God’s people since He very specifically commanded “You shall have no other gods.” The woman cried out to Jesus that her daughter was demon possessed, suffering, and she desperately needed Him to heal her. 

“Jesus did not answer a word.” 

This is profound. Don’t miss it.

His silence was “saying” so much. His disciples wanted to send her away, and Jesus told the woman, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel”. She’s insistent and keeps trying for a couple of reasons. The first, she knows His power even though she’s an outsider. The second, she’s a mama. She’s going to be relentless for her daughter. 

We’ve all been there; the place where we so desperately need Jesus to intervene for our children. Thirteen years ago, my daughter had an unexplained seizure. The very next day, my niece, who was the same age as my daughter, passed away suddenly. I remember vividly sitting in the room at the hospital crying out to Jesus. Asking Him to heal her, to heal my daughter, asking Him for answers, asking, asking, asking. And while I’m not a Canaanite woman, nor am I an outsider like her, I also heard silence. 

The most beautiful part of this story? Jesus told the Canaanite woman no, but she kept on, knowing what He could do. After she asked over and over, Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” 

God didn’t grant my desperate asks of healing my niece that day. But He taught me that the silence is a training ground. To have perseverance, to have faith, to keep praying. 

Prayer: Father, sit with us in the silence when we feel there’s nothing. Remind our aching mama hearts that You are there, training us. And Father, can You please heal the parts of our hearts that have been damaged and maybe not quite healed from those silences? Sometimes we feel wounded when we don’t understand and need reminded of Your plan and love. Gosh, as I’m praying that, that exactly feels like the vast majority of the training. Thank You for the scars left behind as reminders. We will keep pursuing You for our children, yes and Amen. 

Written by Abbey, listening to the silence

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