When You Pray and Things Get Worse

Mark 7:26 – The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

Mark 7:27 – “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

Mark 7:28 – “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

Mark 7:29 – Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

Mark 7:30 – She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

The woman begged Jesus to heal her daughter who was demon possessed. That begging is prayer. She was earnest. She was persistent. She was focused. That is how we should pray!

Eventually Jesus responded. After lots of prayer or one prayer, God will respond. Unfortunately the answer she got was not the desired answer. After lots of focused persistent begging in prayer, she didn’t get a favorable answer. Should she give up?

This woman teaches us what we should do when the answer isn’t favorable. When the answer is almost offensive. When things seem to get worse after prayer.

Jesus responded and told the woman that He came to first save Israelites then afterwards reach other communities. Jesus said this by referring to Israelites as children He came to feed. Jesus also used the language that was understood at His time that referred to other non-Israelite communities as dogs. This should have offended this woman. She wasn’t offended!

The eoman wasn’t offended because she was focused on getting an answer to prayer. Her prayer had elicited a worse response but she refused to be distracted. She focused on her request!

Is your prayer request so important that you don’t get distracted when the reply to your prayer is worse? The woman would have changed the topic and asked Jesus why He is using abusive language? Sometimes we who read the story get that anger and miss the point. In that same way we fail to focus on what we want and get distracted. When you pray and things get worse, persist in prayer!

The woman would have used the response of Jesus to question if He is the Messiah. How can a Messiah use street language? How can the Messiah be insensitive? Is that what we do when answers to pray are not favorable? Questioning God. Are you really a good God? Do you really love me? Did you create me? Why aren’t you answering my prayers? Questions that express doubt. 

It is okay to express frustration to God as David did in various Psalms. However, it is wrong to express doubt. The woman wasn’t misled by the worse answer to her prayer. She wasn’t misled to doubt Jesus. She remained focus on her desired answer because she knew Jesus can help 

When answers to prayer make the situation worse, ask yourself if you have any other place to get better answers. Once you conclude that only God can save you, you remain persistent in prayer until a favorable answer comes your way or you adjust to God’s will.

When you pray and things get worse, persist in prayer. Focus on God. Where else can you go? Only God can help you. When you pray and things get worse, stay focused, don’t be distracted. Eventually you’ll be favored. In Jesus’s name, Amen!

Someone you know will only know about this article if you share with them. Someone you know needs this article. Share this with one more person. Don’t copy the text. Copy THE LINK or send the website address which is reikesis.com so that they too read the word of God FROM THE WEBSITE and access more. YOU CAN COMMENT on this article at the bottom of the article. Also remember this author has a YouTube channel @ReiKesis which has hundreds of videos for you! Thanks for your loyal support of this ministry!