Ep.20-Mothers Day-Praying Like a Mother: Lessons from Mark 7

Ever felt completely helpless while watching someone you love suffer? That desperate feeling is exactly where powerful intercession begins.

The Syrian-Phoenician mother in Mark 7 teaches us what happens when love meets desperation and transforms into unstoppable faith. With her daughter tormented by demons and no solutions in sight, this mother broke all cultural barriers to fall at Jesus' feet. What followed was a remarkable exchange that reveals the heart of effective prayer - persistence that refuses to be denied.

What strikes me most about this woman isn't just her boldness, but her humility. When Jesus initially rebuffs her with what sounds like a harsh comparison to dogs, she doesn't storm off offended. Instead, she brilliantly responds, "Even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Her faith was so robust that she believed just a crumb of Jesus' power would be enough to completely heal her daughter. And she was right.

This Mother's Day, I'm reflecting on the prayer warriors who've shaped my life - particularly my own mother, whose faithful intercession pulled my brother back from years of bad decisions and "worst luck on the planet." There's something uniquely powerful about a mother who hurts more for her child than the child hurts for themselves, who stays on her knees until God answers.

Whether you're a mother, father, or friend - who are you desperately interceding for today? Make yourself a prayer list. Consider fasting a meal for someone who needs a breakthrough. Remember that the God who healed a girl from miles away with just a word is the same God we pray to today. If you keep believing and persisting like that desperate mother, God will take care of the rest.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and good day.
It's the Food for ThoughtFaithcast and I'm your host,
b-rob, and it's a specialMother's Day episode.
Just want to say thank you toall the mothers out there and
all the single fathers doingwhat mothers do.
Want to give you a big, happyMother's Day.
Shout out to you.
Today we've got a littlemessage for you.

(00:24):
Talking about the voice of adesperate intercessor Crying out
before God on behalf of others,especially our children, is
such a privilege because our Godis a great God.
We're going to be diving intothe book of Mark today, chapter

(00:48):
seven, and tell a little storyfor you, so let's go.
But before we do that, I justwant to say that, mothers, you

(01:08):
are some of the best prayerwarriors that I've had the
privilege to meet in my 50 yearsof being on this planet.
You guys are intercessorspouring out your hearts to God
on behalf of your family.
There's nothing quite like whena mother hurts for a child more

(01:30):
than the child actually hurtsfor himself.
The mother actually pleads withGod for that child or that
family member and stays on herknees until God answers, and
stays on her knees until Godanswers.
I can give you an example.
My mother, diane Elrod hasalways prayed for me and my

(01:54):
brothers and I know this for afact.
God has always intervened.
I've always had my mother'sconscience and that has gotten
me out of some bad situationsand kept me probably out of a
lot of bad situations.
Another example is my brother,benji, was a wild child growing

(02:19):
up and they didn't really getalong when he was young because
she didn't really know how tohandle him.
He was something special but hewas followed with the worst
luck on the planet, did some badthings and had the worst luck

(02:44):
of anybody that I know growingup, teenager, young adult, into
heck, even into his 30s a littlebit.
But my mother prays so hard.
And now my brother I'm so proudof him because he's married and

(03:08):
the new wife and the kids man.
They're a huge, happy familyand it's a great thing and I
know my mother prayed for himall these years and they have
the best wonderful relationshipright now.
Praise God, praise God to that.
So that's a testimony of mineof what I've witnessed from a

(03:32):
praying mother.
But what we're going to dotoday is focus on mothers.
But fathers, you need to knowthat you need to pray this way
as well.
The goal today is to look at adesperate mother in Mark 7 and

(03:53):
learn how to intercede forothers.
So let's do that right now.
Let me pull the Bible out realquick.
So in Mark 7, jesus actuallyhonors a woman's faith.
7, verse 24 through 30,.

(04:16):
Jesus left that place and wentto the vicinity of Tyree.
He entered a house and did notwant anyone to know it.
Yet he could not keep hispresence secret.
In fact, as soon as she heardabout him, a woman whose little
daughter was possessed by animpure spirit came and fell at

(04:39):
his feet.
The woman was a Greek, born ofSyrian Phoenicia.
She begged Jesus, to drive thedemon out of her daughter.
Jesus said First, let thechildren eat all they want, he
told her, for it is not right totake the children's bread and

(05:03):
toss it to the dogs.
She replied, lord, even thedogs under the table eat the
children's crumbs.
Then Jesus told her For such areply, you may go.
The demon has left yourdaughter.
Then Jesus told her For such areply, you may go.
The demon has left yourdaughter.
So she went home and found herchild lying on the bed, and the

(05:34):
demon was gone.
You see, this woman in the storywas a Gentile, a mother whose
daughter was demon-possessed.
She may have been so possessedthat even travel was difficult.
The woman bowed before Jesus.
The woman's first response wasto come to Jesus and fall at his

(05:58):
feet.
She came to Jesus who, inMark's gospel, is the one
prophesied by the prophets, thebeloved son of the father, the
teacher whose words make demonsflee, the healer, the one and
only master over nature,sickness and death.

(06:19):
Did she come to the right one?
I think so, and she fell at hisfeet.
She honored him and she washumbly, or humble, but very
passionately seeking his help.

(06:42):
Now, you and I may havedifferent situations, whatever
right.
We may not be dealing with ademon possession, but some of us
might.
You never know.
But we do intercede fornon-believing ones.
We do pray for people whosuffer from illness.

(07:05):
We do pray for our children.
Couples pray for other couples.
I mean, can we fix them?
Can we change them?
No, do we try sometimes, yeah,wrong thing to do right.

(07:28):
But we can do what the woman didcome to Jesus and fall at his
feet.
Because when we do that we'reshowing respect and reverence to
the King of Kings, we'reexpressing our awe over him, we
admit our grief and ourhelplessness.
We stop trying to fix things onour own.
Let me say that one more time,because I need to hear it twice.

(07:51):
We stop trying to fix things onour own and we simply praise
and worship him.
I mean, that's it.
I mean, the mother's requestwasn't all a basket of roses.

(08:14):
You know what I'm saying?
She wasn't bringing perfume.
She was desperate and she wascontinually pleading with Jesus
to free her daughter from thisdemon.
I mean, don't you think weshould do that sometimes?

(08:40):
She came aggressive, but that'swhat intercessors do.
When you're desperate forsomebody else and you don't
worry about the words you use orhow many times you say them,
your ego goes out the window.
When you cry out for others,what matters is that you run to

(09:07):
Jesus and cry out for him.
That's what matters.
That's what matters.
Give you a good example.
I have a friend.
Him and his wife spent manyyears praying and fasting for

(09:28):
one of their children who hadwandered astray.
God answered their prayers forhim.
They didn't stop.
They continued the same patternand started praying for all
their children, including theones that were already walking
with the Lord, and to this day,that's their Friday routine.

(09:52):
They do it every Friday theycry out to God and God is
responding to them.
It every Friday they cry out toGod and God is responding to
them.
Is that a step you need to takeon somebody else's behalf, you
or me?
Probably so, probably so,probably so.

(10:12):
I mean cling to the hope thatGod gives right.
Right, I mean.
At first glance, jesus' responseto the mother seemed pretty
strange, and a lot of people cantell you.
Scholars point out that theword Jesus uses for dog is a

(10:35):
small.
Dog might be a pet, not a wilddog deemed unclean.
Jesus could have been speakingof his timing.
He came to the Jews first andout of that, people, all nations
, will be blessed, which isGenesis 12,.

(10:56):
I believe Genesis 12, I believe, more specifically, jesus may
have been testing the mother'sfaith.
In turn, she doesn't takeoffense to his words.
In fact, she actually engagesand welcomes that.

(11:24):
Basically, she's saying I justneed the crumb.
Her faith was so good shebelieved that even a crumb from
Jesus was enough to break thedemon's hold on her daughter.
I mean, this mother wasclinging to whatever hope Christ
gave her.
That's pretty strong, huh, it'spretty strong.

(11:47):
So, like as you're praying forother people, we should plead
for just a crumb, just a momentof hope.
Hold on pain ends, hope acronymfor hope.
Hold on pain ends.
Just holding on for that moment, that crumb, that crumb.

(12:10):
God gives us Just a simple, asimple slice of his grace.
Just enough to say I'm going tocontinue to pour my heart out
to you.
Just enough for you to say thatand keep saying that.
That's what this couple had fortheir kid in the family, that's
what his mother had.
They trust Jesus, they trustGod, they cling to Jesus.

(12:37):
They cling to Jesus, they clingto God.
I mean, jesus didn't speak tothe demon.
In fact, he was nowhere nearthe daughter.
He just simply declared herfree.
How much of a miracle is that.

(12:59):
And she had so much faith inwhat he said to her, that crumb,
she hurried home as excited asshe could be, taking him at his
word.
She could have lived a mileaway, but she ran home.

(13:19):
She took Jesus at his word.
She could have lived a mileaway, but she ran home.
She took Jesus at his word.
And guess what?
He didn't lie.
He doesn't lie, he is the truth, the way, the light.
And she was well.
She came home and found herdaughter.

(13:39):
Well, just like the father ofthe prodigal son who ran quickly
to meet his returning son inLuke, chapter 15,.
Surely the mother ran in hasteas well home because she knew

(14:02):
and she trusted Jesus and whathe said was true.
And this God, the one who saidthose things, is the same one we
turn to today.
Same one, same one that changeslives.

(14:25):
Same one that still worksmiracles out in hospitals and
everywhere.
The same one that hears thedesperate cries of interceding
mothers and fathers fromeverywhere.
It's amazing to realize that,isn't it Amazing?

(14:52):
So why don't you do yourself,make yourself a prayer list?
Who do you need to pray fortoday?
What person do you need to prayfor today, and are you bothered
by them?

(15:13):
Enough to run to Christ likethis hurting mother?
It could be a family member.
It could be a mother.
It could be a family member.
It could be a friend, it couldbe a spouse, it could be
anything.
Just think about it.
Are you burdened enough thatyou would run to Christ like

(15:35):
this hurting mother did over thedemon?
Possessedpossessed daughter?
Another thing I want you to dois thank God for those who have
interceded for you all theseyears, who have been praying for
you.
Make a commitment to prayregularly for somebody else.

(15:56):
Heck, you might want to fast ameal for somebody else.
If you keep doing that and keepbelieving, god will take care
of the rest.
I promise you, just like he did, just like Jesus did for the

(16:20):
lady.
I promise you, you.